Organophosphate esters in terrestrial environments of Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica: Occurrence, potential sources, and bioaccumulation

Abstract

Despite growing concerns regarding the long-range transport (LRT) and ecological risks of organophosphate esters (OPEs), information on the environmental behaviors of OPEs in polar terrestrial ecosystems remains inadequate. In the present study, 10 OPEs were analyzed in soil and vegetation samples collected from Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica. The OPE concentrations in Antarctic soils, mosses, and lichens ranged from 0.87 to 15.7 ng/g dry weight (dw), 9.8 to 113 ng/g dw, and 3.6 to 75.2 ng/g dw, respectively. Non-chlorinated OPEs predominated in terrestrial matrices, accounting for approximately 76 % of the OPE composition. Source identification indicated that OPE contamination in Antarctica likely resulted from local anthropogenic sources and LRT. Moreover, the bioaccumulation behavior of OPEs from soil to vegetation was assessed using bioconcentration factors (BCFs), revealing a significant non-linear trend of initial increase and subsequent decrease in BCFs relative to the lipophilicities of the octanol-air partition coefficient (log KOA) and octanol-water partition coefficient (log KOW). While low levels of OPEs in Antarctic terrestrial environments were reported in this study, their sustained inputs and potential ecological risks in polar regions warrant further attention.