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. 2023 Apr 15:233:119783.
doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119783. Epub 2023 Feb 22.

Spatiotemporal variations and the ecological risks of organophosphate esters in Laizhou Bay waters between 2019 and 2021: Implying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Maoshan Lian  1 , Jing Wang  1 , Baodong Wang  2 , Ming Xin  2 , Chunye Lin  3 , Xiang Gu  1 , Mengchang He  1 , Xitao Liu  1 , Wei Ouyang  1
Affiliations

Spatiotemporal variations and the ecological risks of organophosphate esters in Laizhou Bay waters between 2019 and 2021: Implying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Maoshan Lian et al. Water Res. .

Abstract

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are a group of synthetic chemicals used in numerous consumer products such as plastics and furniture. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly slowed anthropogenic activities and reduced the emissions of pollutants. Meanwhile, the mismanagement of large quantities of disposable plastic facemasks intensified the problems of plastic pollution and leachable pollutants in coastal waters. In this study, the joint effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the occurrence of 12 targeted OPEs in the waters of Laizhou Bay (LZB) were investigated. The results showed that the median total OPE concentrations were 725, 363, and 109 ng L-1 in the sewage treatment plant effluent, river water, and bay water in 2021, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 67%, 68%, and 70%, respectively, compared with those before the COVID-19 outbreak. The release potential of targeted OPEs from disposable surgical masks in the LZB area was ∼0.24 kg yr-1, which was insufficient to increase the OPE concentration in the LZB waters. The concentrations of most individual OPEs significantly decreased in LZB waters from 2019 to 2021, except for TBOEP and TNBP. Spatially, a lower concentration of OPEs was found in the Yellow River estuary area in 2021 compared with that before the COVID-19 pandemic due to the high content of suspended particulate matter in the YR. A higher total OPE concentration was observed along the northeastern coast of LZB, mainly owing to the construction of an artificial island since 2020. The ecological risks of the OPE mixture in LZB waters were lower than those before the COVID-19 outbreak. However, TCEP, TNBP, and BDP should receive continuous attention because of their potential ecological risks to aquatic organisms.

Keywords: COVID-19; Ecological risk; Organophosphate esters; Source; Spatial distribution.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Image, graphical abstract
Graphical abstract
Fig 1
Fig. 1
The land use in the study area and sampling sites. The coordinates of the sampling sites in 2019 were collected from Lian et al. (2021).
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Concentrations of targeted OPEs in the STP effluent, river water and bay water. The reduction rates in median concentrations of OPEs from 2019 to 2021 are shown in the figure. The data for 2019 was collected from Lian et al. (2021).
Fig 3
Fig. 3
The change rates in industry revenue relating to OPEs application, traffic volume, and emissions of atmospheric and wastewater pollutants from 2019 to 2020. The plot data was collected from SPBS (2020; 2021) and NBS (2020; 2021); I: industry; D: domestic; V: vehicle.
Fig 4
Fig. 4
Spatial distributions of TNBP, TCEP, and TCPP concentrations in the surface water of LZB between 2019 and 2021. The data for 2019 was collected from Lian et al. (2021).
Fig 5
Fig. 5
PCA analysis of individual OPEs in the surface bay water. The plot data for 2019 was collected from Lian et al. (2021).
Fig 6
Fig. 6
Composition profiles of ecological risks for the targeted OPEs in LZB waters between 2019 and 2021. The A, C, and F in the figure represent algae, crustacean, and fish, respectively. The concentration of OPEs in 2019 was collected from Lian et al. (2021).
Fig 7
Fig. 7
Box plot of RQSTU values in LZB waters between 2019 and 2021. The concentration of OPEs in 2019 was collected from Lian et al. (2021).
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