Concentrations Of Phthalate Esters Research Articles

Effect of wetland reclamation and tillage conversion on accumulation and distribution of phthalate esters residues in soils

Accumulation and distribution of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the soils of natural and reclaimed wetlands for different cultivation purposes were investigated. The selected reclaimed soils have only been under cultivation since 1995, thus the behaviors of PAEs may precisely reveal their recent distribution patterns. Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were all detected in surface soil samples. The vertical distribution of PAEs differed between the natural wetlands and cultivated fields. The concentration of PAEs in wetland soil decreased from 0cm to 30cm, and then increased from 30cm to 40cm soil depth. However, the concentrations in 3 types of cultivated fields consistently increased from 0cm to 40cm soil depths. The total concentration of DMP, DEP, DnBP, and DEHP in the wetland surface soil was 109.2ng/g. The total concentrations in rice fields tended to be higher than that of the wetland soil although the difference was not statistically significant, most likely due to the short tillage history. The conversion of bean field to rice field has had a significant effect on accumulation of PAEs. The total concentrations of PAEs in the 1-year rice field were significantly higher than that in the bean field. This was partly due to differences in pesticide and fertilizer usage between rice and bean cultivations; slower biodegradation, abiotic degradation, and evaporation behavior resulting from water covering of rice field probably also contributed to the higher PAEs concentrations in the rice field.

Occurrence and Removal Characteristics of Phthalate Esters from Typical Water Sources in Northeast China

The presence of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the environment has gained a considerable attention due to their potential impacts on public health. This study reports the first data on the occurrence of 15 PAEs in the water near the Mopanshan Reservoir—the new and important water source of Harbin city in Northeast China. As drinking water is a major source for human exposure to PAEs, the fate of target PAEs in the two waterworks (Mopanshan Waterworks and Seven Waterworks) was also analyzed. The results demonstrated that the total concentrations of 15 PAEs in the water near the Mopanshan Reservoir were relatively moderate, ranging from 355.8 to 9226.5 ng/L, with the mean value of 2943.1 ng/L. DBP and DEHP dominated the PAE concentrations, which ranged from 52.5 to 4498.2 ng/L and 128.9 to 6570.9 ng/L, respectively. The occurrence and concentrations of these compounds were heavily spatially dependent. Meanwhile, the results on the waterworks samples suggested no significant differences in PAE levels with the input of the raw waters. Without effective and stable removal of PAEs after the conventional drinking water treatment in the waterworks (25.8% to 76.5%), the risks posed by PAEs through drinking water ingestion were still existing, which should be paid special attention to the source control in the Mopanshan Reservoir and some advanced treatment processes for drinking water supplies.

Influence of Land Use Types on Levels and Compositions of PAEs in Soils from the Area around Hongze Lake

6 congeners of phthalate esters (PAEs) were analyzed in soils with various land use types from the area around Hongze Lake, the fourth largest freshwater lake in China. The total concentrations of 6 congeners (Σ6PAEs ) were 5.070-2.067, 0.723-2.050, 0.331-1.645, 0.002-0.173 mg kg-1 in surface soil from plastic film greenhouse (PG), conventional vegetable fields (CV), plastic film greenhouse-rice rotated fields (PR), and uncultured land (UL), respectively. DnBP and DEHP were dominant species in PAEs averagely accounted for 46.4% and 47.0% of the Σ6PAEs concentrations in all surface soils. And congener percent composition of PAEs in surface soils from uncultured land was considerably different from cultured soils. Vertical distribution of PAEs in soil profile was influenced by land use type, congener species, and the content of congener in surface soil, etc. However, the amounts of PAEs in surface soil accounted more than 58.5% of total amounts in soils. In addition, no significant relationship was observed between total organic C or pH and the concentrations of PAEs in surface soil. The contents of PAEs in soils from the area around Hongze Lake were related with land use types, especially with the use of plastic film. And the general contamination level in soil was comparable or lower than those present in other areas. According to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the present status of PAEs in soils from the area around Hongze Lake

Empirical estimation of pollution load and contamination levels of phthalate esters in agricultural soils from plastic film mulching in China

Pollution load and contamination levels of phthalate esters (PAEs) in agricultural soils throughout China were studied in this work. The usage amount and residual rates of plastic film were the main factors explaining the variation among regions and leading to higher pollution load and contamination levels in agricultural big provinces. However, higher pollution loads and contamination levels frequently occurred under non-recycling than recycling scenarios during calculation. Extremely high loads (more than 10 kg/ha/year) of PAEs were estimated in five areas including Beijing city, Tibet, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province and Fujian Province and the high contamination levels in agricultural soil were presented in these places with more than 4.0 mg/kg under non-recycling scenarios. The predicted concentrations of PAEs in soils exceed the target value for soils from Netherlands (ΣPAEs = 0.1 mg/kg), indicating very high contamination of most Chinese agricultural soils. Significant differences in estimation results after plastic film utilization suggest that decreasing plastic film residue after application is an effective measure to control PAE pollution in soils. However, the comparison between contamination levels of PAEs estimated by the model and the previous detections of PAEs pollution levels in agricultural soils showed that there were presented wide range of PAE sources indicated to agricultural soils.

Migration of organic compounds from PET/clay nanocomposites: influences of clay type, content and dispersion state

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are widely used for packaging mineral water or soft drinks. Migration of toxic residual phthalate esters from PET could potentially change the quality of the bottled contents. The main purpose of this study is to control the migration of five different phthalate esters from PET bottles into the water they contained. To achieve this goal, three different types of nanoclay particles were added to PET to slow down the migration of the toxic phthalate esters. The concentration of phthalate esters in the water in contact with PET and PET/nanoclay was measured by gas chromatography (GC-FID) combined with the directly suspended droplet microextraction method. Good precision, accuracy and reproducibility over a wide linear range were achieved by the proposed technique under optimal conditions. The experimental results reveal that adding nanoclay fillers to the PET decreases the release of the above-mentioned chemicals from PET into the water considerably due to attainment of a tortuous diffusive path. Data also indicate the significant effect of nanoclay volume fraction and exfoliated morphology on obtaining efficient barrier properties. Furthermore the effects of parameters such as storage time, temperature, and amount and type of nanoclay inclusions were studied on the migration rate, as well.

Risk Assessment of Human Exposure to Bioaccessible Phthalate Esters via Indoor Dust around the Pearl River Delta

There is limited information on the bioaccessible fractions of phthalate esters in indoor dust in order to estimate human exposure. In the present study, workplace dust and settled house dust samples from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, the three major cities scattered around the Pearl River Delta (PRD) were collected. Chemical analyses showed that the phthalates in workplace dust ranged from 144 to 1810 μg/g, with dust from shopping malls containing the highest level, and in home dust ranged from 181 to 9240 μg/g. The most abundant phthalate ester found was bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in both workplace dust and home dust, followed by di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-iso-butyl phthalate (DIBP). Principal Components Analysis (PCA) indicated that indoor dust around PRD showed similar phthalate esters patterns of composition. A significant correlation was observed between total phthalate esters concentrations in home dust and the number of year of house construction (p < 0.05). The oral bioaccessibility of phthalate esters in indoor dust ranged from 10.2% (DEHP) to 32% (DMP). Risk assessment indicated that the dominant exposure routes varied in different phthalate esters exposure profiles and the dermal contact exposure pathway was identified as an important route for indoor DEHP exposure.

Assessment of organochlorine pesticides and plasticisers in the Selangor River basin and possible pollution sources

A study on the quality of water abstracted for potable use was conducted in the Selangor River basin from November 2008 to July 2009. Seven sampling sites representing the intake points of water treatment plants in the basin were selected to determine the occurrence and level of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), six phthalate esters (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA). Results indicated OCPs were still detected regularly in 66.1 % of the samples with the Σ(15)OCPs ranging from 0.6-25.2 ng/L. The first data on PAEs contamination in the basin revealed Σ(6)PAEs concentrations were between 39.0 and 1,096.6 ng/L with a median concentration of 186.0 ng/L while BPA concentration ranged from <1.2 to 120.0 ng/L. Although di-n-butyl phthalate was detected in all the samples, concentrations of di-ethyl(hexyl)phthalate were higher. Sampling sites located downstream recorded the highest concentrations, together with samples collected during the dry season. Comparison of the detected contaminants with the Department of Environment Water Quality Index (DOE-WQI) showed some agreement between the concentration and the current classification of stream water. While the results suggest that the sites were only slightly polluted and suitable to be used as drinking water source, its presence is cause for concern especially to the fragile firefly "Pteroptyx tener" ecosystem located further downstream.

Challenges encountered in the analysis of phthalate esters in foodstuffs and other biological matrices

Phthalate esters are ubiquitous environmental pollutants and are recognized as environmental endocrine disruptors because of their potential to elicit reproductive and developmental toxicity. Several phthalate esters have been listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as chemicals of concern. Determination of concentrations of phthalate esters in foodstuffs, typically present at sub to low nanogram-per-gram concentrations (between 0.1 and 100 ng g(-1)), is essential for assessment of human dietary exposure. However, phthalate esters are commonly present as contaminants in several laboratory products, including organic solvents, that are used in sample preparation and analysis. Therefore, accurate analysis of phthalates in food samples is a challenging task. In this review, we summarize the methods available for the determination of phthalate esters in foodstuffs and report on concentrations of phthalates in foodstuffs and potential sources of contamination by phthalates in the analysis of foodstuffs. We offer suggestions to eliminate and/or reduce background levels of contamination by phthalates in the analysis of food and other biological samples. We also introduce methods that are suitable for trace analysis of phthalates in a variety of liquid and solid food samples, in particular, a liquid-liquid extraction method for removal of lipids from food samples, because these can substantially reduce background levels of phthalates in the analytical procedure.

Characteristics and assessment of phthalate esters in urban dusts in Guangzhou city, China

Phthalate esters (PAEs) were examined in indoor and outdoor dust samples from the subtropical city of Guangzhou, China. The ∑(16)PAEs concentrations ranged from 121 to 3,223 μg g(-1) dust, with the median concentration of 840 μg g(-1) dust. Significantly higher concentrations of PAEs in dust samples were found in offices where electrical and electronic devices, carpet pads, and office furniture were widely used. Of the 16 PAEs, diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated the PAEs in indoor and outdoor dust samples, and accounted for >96.8% and >93.1% of the ∑(16)PAEs concentrations, respectively. The median daily inhalation exposure of ∑(16)PAEs were 3.53 and 0.247 μg kg(-1) body weight day(-1), and at the 95(th) percentile were 7.62 and 0.530 μg kg(-1) body weight day(-1), up on the measured concentrations and estimated dust ingestion rates, respectively, for toddles and adults. The ubiquitous distribution of PAEs as noted in this study suggests the need for detailed assessment of PAEs concentrations using more sites and to further investigate the factors influencing PAEs exposure in China.

Subcritical water extraction for the remediation of phthalate ester-contaminated soil

Subcritical water has been used as an environment-friendly extraction fluid for many classes of organic compounds. It was used for the removal of phthalate esters (PEs), such as di-methyl phthalate, DMP; di-ethyl phthalate, DEP; di-iso-propyl phthalate, DIPP; di-n-butyl phthalate, DBP; benzyl butyl phthalate, BBP; di-n-pentyl phthalate, DpentP; di-n-hexyl phthalate, DHXP; di-heptyl phthalate, DheptP; di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, DEHP; di-n-nonyl phthalate, DNP; di-n-octyl phthalate, DOP; di-n-decyl phthalate, DDP, in soil samples under the optimum condition of 250 °C and 10 MPa in our study. The soil samples cleaned with subcritical water were extracted by homemade accelerated solvent extraction system (ASE) and analyzed by HPLC–UV to check for soil remediation efficiency. Three types of soil collected at different sites in Taiwan have been tested. Although at higher PEs concentration levels, the modification of treatments may be necessary for satisfactory removal of the contaminants, soil samples of different PEs levels treated with subcritical water extraction (SCWE) were analyzed and the results indicated removal efficiency ranges of 80–90% for PEs spiked in soil samples. Soil samples contaminated with native DEHP were treated and gave comparable recovery efficiencies. Our results indicate that the applications of subcritical water as soil remediation for removal of PEs contaminant are feasible.

Potential mechanisms of phthalate ester embryotoxicity in the abalone Haliotis diversicolor supertexta

The effects and associated toxicological mechanisms of five phthalate esters (PAEs) on abalone embryonic development were investigated by exposing the embryos to a range of PAEs concentrations (0.05, 0.2, 2 and 10 μg/mL). The results showed that PAEs could significantly reduce embryo hatchability, increase developmental malformations, and suppress the metamorphosis of abalone larvae. The possible toxicological mechanisms of PAEs to abalone embryos included, affecting the Na +–K +-pump and Ca 2+–Mg 2+-pump activities, altering the peroxidase (POD) level and the malondialdehyde (MDA) production, damaging the extraembryonic membranes structure, as well as disrupting endocrine-related genes ( gpx, cyp3a, and 17β-hsd 12) expression properties. Taken together, this work showed that PAEs adversely affected the embryonic ontogeny of abalone. The abilities of PAEs affecting the osmoregulation, inducing oxidative stress, damaging embryo envelope structure, and causing physiological homeostasis disorder, are likely to be a part of the common mechanisms responsible for their embryonic toxicity.

ヘッドスペースガスクロマトグラフ質量分析計を用いた化粧品中のフタル酸エステルの分析

An analytical method of phthalate esters including dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, diisobutyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate in cosmetics was investigated using head space gas chromatography mass spectrometry(HS-GC/MS). Equilibration in the head space using Tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-Dioxide (sulforan) as solvent under the temperature and duration of 130 °C and 30 minutes, respectively, gave the result of accurate analysis possible.Using this method, the concentration of phthalate esters in cosmetics were determined, and the results showed that dibutyl phthalate concentration in an eyebrow pencil was around 2000 μg/g (0.2%).

Increased plasma levels of phthalate esters in women with advanced-stage endometriosis: a prospective case-control study

We performed the present prospective case-control study to evaluate whether the plasma concentrations of phthalate esters are elevated in women with advanced-stage endometriosis in a Korean population. Measuring plasma levels of monoethylhexyl phthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in 97 women with advanced-stage endometriosis and 169 control women by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we found that the concentrations of monoethylhexyl phthalate, as well as di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, are significantly higher in those with advanced-stage endometriosis, which supports the hypothesis that exposure to phthalate might play a role in the establishment of endometriosis.

Degradation of phthalate esters (PAEs) in soil and the effects of PAEs on soil microcosm activity

AbstractBACKGROUND: Phthalate esters (PAEs), a class of refractory and toxic organic compounds, are becoming one of the most widespread contaminants in the environment. Degradation of PAEs in soil has been investigated, but limited to one or a few kinds of PAEs. Microorganisms could be regarded as a sensitive bio‐indicator for soil contaminants. Therefore, four commonly used PAEs were chosen to investigate their degradation patterns and potential impacts on soil microbial activity with a series of bioassays.RESULT: PAEs in sterile soils changed slightly, while degradation of PAEs in non‐sterile soil followed a single first‐order kinetic. Higher concentrations of PAEs led to lower β‐glucosidase activity and higher protease activity, with smooth changes of phosphatase and urease activities. PAEs decreased average well color development (AWCD), while Shannon index (H) showed a tendency to increase after a decrease. Carbon utilization profile was affected significantly by PAEs, especially at 10 mg kg−1 soil.CONCLUSION: Degradation of PAEs was driven mainly by microbial mediated processes. PAEs affected carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles variously, and had temporal effects on metabolic diversity, owing to the adaptation of microbes. Carbon substrates utilization changed from easily degradable sugars and carboxylic acids to recalcitrant compounds during the simulation. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry

Seasonal distribution of phthalate esters in surface water of the urban lakes in the subtropical city, Guangzhou, China

Urban lakes are vulnerable to the accumulation of toxic and/or potentially toxic contaminants, such as phthalate esters (PAEs) from urban stormwater runoff, atmospheric deposition, as well as untreated discharge of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage. The concentrations of 16 PAEs in surface water from 15 urban lakes in the subtropical city, Guangzhou, were measured, respectively in spring, summer and winter 2006, to elucidate the effect of the seasonal variation in climate conditions on the distribution of PAEs. Seasonal variations of the Σ 16PAEs concentrations, ranging, respectively from 0.47 to 6.19 μg L −1 and from 24.9 to 221 μg g −1, were measured in the dissolved and suspended particulate matter (SPM) phases. The highest concentrations of PAEs were present in summer. The spatial distribution of PAEs was site-specific. Of the 16 PAEs, dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate (D iBP), di- n-butyl phthalate (D nBP), di(4-methyl-2-pentyl) phthalate (DMPP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were present in all the samples analyzed, and dominated by D nBP, D iBP and DEHP. Composition profile of PAEs indicated that the application of D nBP/D iBP is relatively high in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Longer/branching alkyl PAEs likely adsorb to SPM in aquatic environments. Normalized partition coefficient ( K OC) between the dissolved water and SPM was correlated with n-octanol/water partition coefficient ( K OW) to understand the environmental behavior of PAEs.

Distribution of Phthalate Esters in Soil of E-Waste Recycling Sites from Taizhou City in China

In recent years, increasing concern has surrounded the consequences of improper electric and electronic waste (e-waste) disposal. In this paper, Phthalate esters (PAEs) including dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) in the e-waste soils were collected and analyzed from sites Fengjiang, Nanshan and Meishu in Taizhou city. The result showed that the total PAEs concentrations ranged from 12.566 to 46.669 mg/kg in these three sites. DEHP, DBP and DEP were the major phthalates accounting for more than 94% of total phthalates studied. Comparing to the results from other studies, the e-waste soils from Taizhou city were severely contaminated with PAEs.

Distribution of phthalate esters in the groundwater of Jianghan plain, Hubei, China

Samples of groundwater were collected from 17 sites in the Jianghan plain in July 2007. Sixteen phthalate esters (PAEs) were detected in samples collected by using solid-phase extraction (SPE)-gas chromatography (GC). The results show that there were one or several PAEs in all the samples, and the concentrations of total PAEs ranged from 80.12 to 1882.18 ng/L. Four PAEs, i.e. di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), bis (2-ethoxyethyl) phthalate (BEEP) and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate DEHP) were the dominant species. Among these, DIBP, DBP and DEHP concentrations were closely related to the water supply from the Yangtze River, Hanjiang River and Honghu Lake. However, the distribution of BEEP was irregular, which may be due to the application of some kind of products containing BEEP in the related areas. PAE distribution was irrelevant to the electrical conductivity and sample depth.

Simultaneous preconcentration of a wide variety of organic pollutants in water samples: Comparison of stir bar sorptive extraction and membrane-assisted solvent extraction

Stir bar soptive extraction (SBSE) coupled to thermal desorption-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD-GC–MS) and membrane-assisted solvent extraction (MASE) coupled to large volume injection-programmed temperature vaporisation-GC–MS (LVI-PTV-GC–MS) were optimised for the simultaneous determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phthalate esters (PEs), nonylphenols (NPs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in water samples. In the case of SBSE-TD, variables affecting the extraction (extraction time, addition of sodium chloride or methanol and sample volume) and desorption (cryofocusing temperature, desorption time and temperature, vent pressure and desorption flow) were fitted for the simultaneous determination. The extraction solvent nature ( n-hexane, cyclohexane, n-heptane, ethyl acetate, toluene, dichloromethane or cyclohexane:ethyl acetate mixtures), as well as the addition of methanol (0–30%) and sodium chloride (0–20%), the extraction temperature (30–60 °C), shaking speed (250–750 rpm) and extraction time (5–150 min) were studied for the simultaneous membrane-assisted preconcentration. Finally, PTV-LVI variables such as injection volume (100–600 μL), injection speed (10–40 μL s −1), vent pressure (0–12.7 psi), vent time (0.05–0.8 min), vent flow (30–80 mL min −1), cryofocusing temperature (20–70 °C), split flow (20–100 mL min −1) and split time (1–5 min) were optimised. The optimisation was carried out by means of experimental design approaches in most of the cases. Precision (∼3–19% for both SBSE-TD and MASE-LVI-PTV), accuracy (∼80–120% for both SBSE-TD and MASE-LVI-PTV), limits of detection (LoDs) (0.1–222 ng L −1 for MASE-LVI-PTV and 0.03–20.4 ng L −1 for SBSE-TD in dependence of substance) and linearity (from 25 ng L −1 up to at least 500 ng L −1 for both procedures) were established for both procedures. Finally, the developed methods were applied to the determination of the free concentrations of PAHs, PCBs, PEs, NPs, PBBs and PBDEs in natural water samples (estuarine water and sea water) from the Bilbao estuary (Northern Spain) and comparable results were obtained with both procedures.

Distribution of phthalate esters in urban soils of subtropical city, Guangzhou, China

Surface soils from 37 sampling sites including roadsides (RS), parks (PA) and residential areas (RE) of the Subtropical City, Guangzhou, were collected in December of 2005 and analyzed for 16 phthalate esters (PAEs). PAEs were detected in all surface soils analyzed, which indicate that PAEs are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. The ∑ 16 PAEs concentrations ranged from 1.67 to 322 μg g −1-dry weight (dw), with the median concentration of 17.7 μg g −1-dw, mainly originating from municipal solid waste leachate, discarded plastic effusion, municipal sewage and atmospheric depositions. Concentrations of PAEs were poorly correlated with soil organic carbon content, suggesting mixing process between local and on-going sources. Of the 16 PAEs, diisobutyl phthalate (D iBP), di- n-butyl phthalate (D nBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated the PAEs, with the median concentrations of 1.63 μg g −1-dw, 1.80 μg g −1-dw and 14.8 μg g −1-dw, respectively, and accounted for 74.2–99.8% of the ∑ 16 PAEs concentrations. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to the distribution patterns of PAEs in the urban soils. Significant correlations existed among D iBP, D nBP, and DEHP, and between dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP). No significant differences of PAE congeneric profiles were observed between this and studies conducted elsewhere, which is consistent with the application of similar commercial PAEs around the world. As compared to the results from other studies, the urban soils of Guangzhou city were severely contaminated with PAEs. The environmental and human health risks posed by PAEs in the urban soils of Guangzhou city may deserve further attention.

Phthalate esters (PAEs): Emerging organic contaminants in agricultural soils in peri-urban areas around Guangzhou, China

This study reports the first data on the concentrations and distribution of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the agricultural soils from the peri-urban areas of Guangzhou city. Sigma(16)PAEs concentrations ranged from 0.195 to 33.6 microg g(-1)-dry weight (dw). Elevated levels of PAEs were recorded in the vegetable fields located next to the urban districts, and a decreasing trend exists following the distance away from the urban center. Diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated the PAEs in the agricultural soils. Significant relationship (correlation coefficient R(2)=0.85, p<0.01, n=40) was present between the accumulation of PAEs and total organic carbons in agricultural soils. In addition, both pH and texture of soils are found to be important factors affecting the level of PAEs. This study shows that the agricultural soils in the peri-urban area of Guangzhou city were moderately polluted by PAEs.