Plastic Additives in Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in the Pearl River Delta, China: High-Throughput Characterization and Health Implications

Abstract

Elucidation of the chemical components of airborne fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) facilitates the characterization of atmospheric contamination sources and associated human exposure risks. In the present study, we employed a high-throughput analytical approach to investigate the abundance and distribution of 163 plastic additives in ambient PM 2.5 collected from 94 different sites across the Pearl River Delta region, China. These chemicals are from six categories, including organophosphate esters (OPEs), phthalate esters (PAEs), PAE replacements, bisphenol analogues, UV stabilizers, and antioxidants. Ninety-three of them exhibited a detection frequency greater than 50% in PM 2.5 , while the combined concentrations of target plastic additives ranged from 610 to 49,400 μg/g (median: 3500 μg/g) across sites. By category, concentrations of PAEs (median: 2710 μg/g) were one to three orders of magnitude greater than those of other groups, followed by PAE replacements (540 μg/g) and OPEs (76.2 μg/g). Chemical-dependent exposure risks to PM 2.5 -bound plastic additives were characterized via the estimated daily intake and hazard quotient (HQ) approaches, which resulted in two different risk prioritization systems. Although the HQ approach suggested no or very low health concerns when considering individual chemicals, the complexity of co-concurrent chemicals in PM 2.5 raises the concern on potential health risks from exposure to airborne particles and a cocktail of chemical components.

Seasonal Trends, Profiles, and Exposure Risk of PM2.5-bound Bisphenol Analogs in Ambient Outdoor Air: A Study in Shanghai, China

“…A number of studies have developed methods for extraction (Berkner et al, 2004;Wilson et al, 2007) and analysis (Xue et al, 2016) of PM2.5-bound BPs. More works have also determined BP's concentration (Fu and Kawamura, 2010b;Li J. and Wang, 2015), exposure ( Hines et al, 2018;Liu X. et al, 2021), the correlation with other pollutants ( Li J. and Wang, 2015) and distribution .…”

“…To evaluate non-cancer risks as a consequence of the inhaled PM 2.5-bound BPs, we referred to a recently published approach by (Liu X. et al, 2021) which is briefly outlined hereafter. Two indicators (hazard quotient, HQ and estimated daily intake, EDI) (USEPA, 2000) were estimated as following :…”

Beyond Cholinesterase Inhibition: Developmental Neurotoxicity of Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers

“…2019 ; van der Veen and de Boer 2012 ). Today, most organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) are thiophosphates ( ) ( Atwood and Paisley-Jones 2017 ), whereas most organophosphate flame retardants are not ( Liu et al. 2021 ).…”

“…Although some organophosphate esters are used and regulated as nerve agents and pesticides, others are used extensively as flame retardants and plasticizers in a variety of products, including building materials, textiles, electronics, car seats, nail polishes, and furniture (Andresen et al 2004;Blum et al 2019; van der Veen and de Boer 2012). Today, most organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) are thiophosphates (S = PðORÞ 3 ) (Atwood and Paisley-Jones 2017), whereas most organophosphate flame retardants are not (Liu et al 2021). Organophosphate esters also occur as oxidation products of organophosphite compounds that are widely used as antioxidants and photoinitiators in polymerization (Liu and Mabury 2019).…”

Environmental systems engineering consideration on treatment of emerging pollutants and risk prevention and control of chemicals

“…、苯并三唑类紫外线稳定剂 [6,10,13] 、船舶防污涂料中的有机锡 [14] 等。化学品种类多，大体上可分为工业化学品、农用化学品、药物和个人护理 用化学品、产品中的化学品；美国化学文摘社注册的化学物质已达到 1.76 亿种 (2021 年初数据，每天约增加 8000~10000 种) (https://www.cas.org/)，全球市场使 用的化学品及其混合物已达 35 万种 [15] [20,21] 。全球生物多样性的降低，除了气候变化、栖息地丧失等因素，新污染物 的污染应该有所贡献 [22] 。此外，还有一些新污染物危害地球系统物理结构，最 典型的是消耗臭氧层的各种氟氯烷烃类化学物质 [23,24] [26] 。早期的环境系统工程多围绕 BOD 等常规污染物的治理，以期在常 规污染物环境排放达标的前提下，尽可能降低污染治理的成本。然而，随着常 规污染问题的解决，新污染物与化学品不当管理而引发的环境问题又凸显出 来，成为认识、评价与解决环境污染损害健康问题的主要矛盾。 生态破坏与环境污染等环境问题均可视为地球表层系统内由人类主导的对 系统结构和功能的破坏。地球表层系统是开放、动态的复杂巨系统 [27,28] [30] 评估了铂族金 属在全球范围内的循环流动情况。2000 年，陈效逑等人 [31] [50,51] 的 MFA 已在全球、国家和区域层面得到大量细致的研究。而 在有机化学品方面，尽管前人已对 BPA [52] , PAEs [53] 、多溴联苯醚(PBDEs) [54] 和 PFASs [55] 等化学品展开相关研究，但由于有机化学品数量种类众多，目前的研 究仍十分有限。 基于 MFA 量化的化学品环境释放量数据，结合化学品的理化性质和环境行 为参数，多介质环境模型可进一步模拟和预测化学品在环境介质中的浓度分布 和归趋。多介质环境模型从其本质看，是刻画成为污染物的化学物质在多介质 环境中的源-流-汇动态关系。1979 年，Mackay 首次提出多介质逸度模型的概 念，并于 1983 年构建 QWASI 模型模拟化学品的环境分配 [56,57] 。起初，多介质 环境模型较为简单，如空气-水 [58] 、沉积物-水 [59] 和空气-土壤交换模型 [60] ，这些 模型通常考虑的环境相较少，且多虚拟环境参数，与真实地理数据脱节。随着 计算能力的高速发展，如今的多介质环境模型已更加复杂和精准。逸度模型与 地理信息系统的结合还能产生具有空间分异性的多介质环境模型。近年来，利 用这种空间分异性多介质环境模型的化学品环境归趋研究日益增多。例如，前 人已针对 PBDEs [61] , PAEs [62] , PFASs [63~65] 、苯并[a]芘 [66] 和三氯生 [67] Summary for "新污染物的健康风险及防控对策" As the impact of emerging pollutants (EPs) on human health and ecosystems become significant, attention is being drawn to the treatment of EPs. Unlike conventional pollutants (e.g., Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, SO 2 , NO x , etc.…”