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Profiles and risk assessment of phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in drinking water sources and treatment plants, East China

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Abstract

This study is the first report describing the occurrence of 15 phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in the three typical water sources of YiXing City, Taihu Upper-River Basin, East China. The fate of target PAEs in the Jiubin drinking water treatment plant (JTP) was also analyzed. The amounts of Σ15PAE in the Hengshan (HS), Youche (YC), and Xijiu (XJ) water sources were relatively moderate, with mean values of 360, 357, and 697 ng L−1, respectively. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated the PAE concentration, making up 80% of the 15 total PAEs. The highest levels of Σ15PAE were found in HS, YC, and XJ in March 2015, January 2015, and July 2014, respectively. The occurrence and concentrations of these compounds were spatially dependent, and the mean concentrations of Σ15PAE in HS, YC, and XJ samples increased from the surface layer to the bottom layer with varied percentage increases. The removal efficiency of the PAEs in the finished water varied markedly, and the removal of PAEs by the JTP ranged from 12.8 to 64.5%. The potential ecosystem risk assessment indicated that the risk of PAEs was relatively low in these three water sources. However, risks posed by PAEs due to drinking water still exist; therefore, special attention should be paid to source control in the JTP, and advanced treatment processes for drinking water supplies should be implemented.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment (No. 2014ZX07405002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51608148)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environment, School of Municipal & Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Yanli Kong, Jimin Shen, Zhonglin Chen, Jing Kang, Taiping Li, Xiaofei Wu, XiangZhen Kong & Leitao Fan

  2. HIT Yixing Academy of Environmental Protection, Yixing, 214200, China

    Zhonglin Chen

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  1. Yanli Kong
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  2. Jimin Shen
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  3. Zhonglin Chen
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  7. XiangZhen Kong
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Correspondence to Jimin Shen.

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Responsible editor: Hongwen Sun

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Kong, Y., Shen, J., Chen, Z. et al. Profiles and risk assessment of phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in drinking water sources and treatment plants, East China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 23646–23657 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9783-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9783-x

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