Occurrence, distribution and bioaccumulation of alkylphenols in the Pearl River networks, South China

Abstract

Abstract The concentrations and distributions of selected alkylphenols (APs; 4-nonylphenols, 4-n-octylphenol, 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol) in water, sediment and aquatic organism samples in the Pearl River networks were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that 4-nonylphenols (NPs) were dominant in both water samples and sediment samples. For APs, downtown and populated regions showed higher concentrations than rural regions; furthermore, the concentrations of APs in eastern tributaries were higher than those in western tributaries. In aquatic organism samples, the content range of APs, NPs, and octylphenols (OPs; 4-n-octylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol) were 174.74–648.10 ng/g, 143.95–582.51 ng/g, and 8.10–37.10 ng/g, respectively, with mean values of 346.52, 281.90, and 24.13 ng/g, accordingly. The accumulated level of APs in nine different species of aquatic organism species declined as follows: perch (Lateolabrax japonicus) > bighead fish (Aristichthys nobilis) > silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) > carp (Cyprinus carpio) > barbel chub (Squaliobarbus curriculus) > shellfish (Corbicula fluminea) > grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) > cyprinid fish (Megalobrama hoffmanni) > shrimp (Macrobranchium nipponense). Carnivorous and filter-feeding fish tended to accumulate more APs than other dietic fish, shellfish and shrimps.