Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial distributions, source apportionment and ecological risk of SVOCs in water and sediment from Xijiang River, Pearl River Delta

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Xijiang River is an important drinking water source in Guangxi Province, China. Along the Xijiang River and surrounding tributary, the pollution profile of three important groups of semi-volatile organic compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and phthalate esters (PAEs), was analyzed. Relatively low levels of PAHs (64–3.7 × 102 ng L−1) and OCPs (16–70 ng L−1), but high levels of PAEs (7.9 × 102–6.8 × 103 ng L−1) occurred in the water. Comparatively, low levels of OCPs (39–1.8 × 102 ng g−1) and PAEs (21–81 ng g−1), but high levels of PAHs (41–1.1 × 103 ng g−1) were found in sediment. Principal component analyses for source identification indicated petroleum-derived residues or coal and biomass combustion, and vehicular emission was the main sources for PAHs. The OCPs sources of each category were almost independent, whereas the new input of HCHs and p,p′-DDTs probably existed in some areas. PAEs were mainly originated from personal care products of urban sewage, plastic and other industrial sources. Ecological risk through the risk quotient analysis indicated a small or significant potential adverse effect on fish, daphnia and green algae. Nevertheless, the integrated risk of all pollutants should be taken into account in future study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Cai, W. L., Luo, G. Y., Xu, X. Y., & Du, X. (2012). Contamination characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water from Jialing River in Chongqing. Environmental Science, 33, 2341–2346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., Jia, R., & Yang, S. (2015). Distribution and source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water dissolved phase, suspended particulate matter and sediment from Weihe River in Northwest China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12, 14148–14163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cristale, J., Katsoyiannis, A., Sweetman, A. J., Jones, K. C., & Lacorte, S. (2013a). Occurrence and risk assessment of organophosphorus and brominated flame retardants in the River Aire (UK). Environmental Pollution, 179, 194–200.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cristale, J., Vázquez, A. G., Barata, C., & Lacorte, S. (2013b). Priority and emerging flame retardants in rivers: Occurrence in water and sediment, Daphnia magna toxicity and risk assessment. Environment International, 59, 232–243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, H., Peng, P. A., Huang, W., & Song, J. (2006). Distribution and loadings of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Xijiang River in Guangdong, South China. Chemosphere, 64, 1401–1411.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Devi, N. L., Yadav, I. C., Raha, P., Qi, S. H., & Dan, Y. (2015). Spatial distribution, source apportionment and ecological risk assessment of residual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the Himalayas. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22, 20154–20166.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doong, R. A., Sun, Y. C., Liao, P. L., Peng, C. K., & Wu, S. C. (2002). Distribution and fate of organochlorine pesticide residues in sediments from the selected rivers in Taiwan. Chemosphere, 48, 237–246.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, W., Xia, X., & Sha, Y. (2008). Distribution of Phthalic Acid Esters in Wuhan section of the Yangtze River, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 154, 317–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez-Hens, A., & Aguilar-Caballos, M. (2003). Social and economic interest in the control of phthalic acid esters. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 22, 847–857.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, P., Ohura, T., Guruge, K. S., Yoshioka, M., Yamanaka, N., Akiba, M., et al. (2016). Spatio-temporal distribution, source, and genotoxic potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in estuarine and riverine sediments from southern India. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 130, 113–123.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He, W., Qin, N., Kong, X., Liu, W., He, Q., Ouyang, H., et al. (2013). Spatio-temporal distributions and the ecological and health risks of phthalate esters (PAEs) in the surface water of a large, shallow Chinese lake. Science of the Total Environment, 461, 672–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, G., Luo, X., Li, F., Dai, J., Guo, J., Chen, S., et al. (2010). Organochlorine compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment from Baiyangdian Lake, North China: concentrations, sources profiles and potential risk. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 22, 176–183.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kamel, E., Moussa, S., Abonorag, M. A., & Konuk, M. (2015). Occurrence and possible fate of organochlorine pesticide residues at Manzala Lake in Egypt as a model study. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187, 4161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, L., Wang, Q. M., He, Q. S., He, W., Liu, W. X., Kong, X. Z., et al. (2016). Current status and historical variations of phthalate ester (PAE) contamination in the sediments from a large Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23, 10393–10405.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kata, M., Rao, S. S., & Mohan, K. R. (2015). Spatial distribution, ecological risk evaluation and potential sources of organochlorine pesticides from soils in India. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74, 4031–4038.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kong, S. F., Ji, Y. Q., Liu, L. L., Chen, L., Zhao, X. Y., Wang, J. J., et al. (2013). Spatial and temporal variation of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in atmospheric PM10 and PM2.5 and the influence of ambient temperature in Tianjin, China. Atmospheric Environment, 74, 199–208.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, R. K., & Baker, J. E. (2003). Source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the urban atmosphere: A comparison of three methods. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 1873–1881.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, B., Feng, C., Li, X., Chen, Y., Niu, J., & Shen, Z. (2012). Spatial distribution and source apportionment of PAHs in surficial sediments of the Yangtze Estuary, China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64, 636–643.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, X. F., Hou, L. J., Li, Y., Liu, M., Lin, X. B., & Cheng, L. (2016). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and black carbon in intertidal sediments of China coastal zones: Concentration, ecological risk, source and their relationship. Science of the Total Environment, 566, 1387–1397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C. C., Huo, S. L., Xi, B. D., Yu, Z. Q., Zeng, X. Y., Zhang, J. T., et al. (2015a). Historical deposition behaviors of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the sediments of a shallow eutrophic lake in Eastern China: Roles of the sources and sedimentological conditions. Ecological Indicators, 53, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, G. Y., Sun, H. W., Zhang, Z. Y., An, T. C., & Hu, J. F. (2013). Distribution profile, health risk and elimination of model atmospheric SVOCs associated with a typical municipal garbage compressing station in Guangzhou, South China. Atmospheric Environment, 76, 173–180.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, T., Yin, P., Zhao, L., Wang, G., Yu, Q. J., Li, H., et al. (2015b). Spatial–temporal distribution of phthalate esters from riverine outlets of Pearl River Delta in China. Water Science and Technology, 71, 183–190.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S. L., Zhang, S. Y., Dong, H. P., Zhao, Q. F., & Cao, C. H. (2015c). Presence of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in near-surface sediments of an oil spill area in Bohai Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 100, 169–175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, T., Nizzetto, L., Guo, Z., Li, Y., Li, J., & Zhang, G. (2016). DDTs and HCHs in sediment cores from the coastal East China Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 539, 388–394.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, H., Liang, H., Liang, Y., Zhang, D., Wang, C., Cai, H., et al. (2010). Distribution of phthalate esters in alluvial sediment: A case study at JiangHan Plain, Central China. Chemosphere, 78, 382–388.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, X., Zhang, G., Li, J., Yu, L. L., Xu, Y., Li, X. D., et al. (2009). Seasonal patterns and current sources of DDTs, chlordanes, hexachlorobenzene, and endosulfan in the atmosphere of 37 Chinese cities. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 1316–1321.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lv, J., Xu, J., Guo, C., Zhang, Y., Bai, Y., & Meng, W. (2014). Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water from Liaohe River Basin, northeast China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 21, 7088–7096.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood, A., Malik, R. N., Li, J., & Zhang, G. (2014). Levels, distribution pattern and ecological risk assessment of organochlorines pesticides (OCPs) in water and sediments from two tributaries of the Chenab River, Pakistan. Ecotoxicology, 23, 1713–1721.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malik, A., Verma, P., Singh, A. K., & Singh, K. P. (2011). Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and bed sediments of the Gomti River, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 172, 529–545.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manoli, E., & Samara, C. (1999). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in natural waters: sources, occurrence and analysis. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 18, 417–428.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manoli, E., Samara, C., Konstantinou, I., & Albanis, T. (2000). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the bulk precipitation and surface waters of Northern Greece. Chemosphere, 41, 1845–1855.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meijer, S. N., Halsall, C. J., Harner, T., Peters, A., Ockenden, W., Johnston, A., et al. (2001). Organochlorine pesticide residues in archived UK soil. Environmental Science and Technology, 35, 1989–1995.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montuori, P., Aurino, S., Garzonio, F., Sarnacchiaro, P., Nardone, A., & Triassi, M. (2016). Distribution, sources and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water and sediments from Tiber River and estuary, Italy. Science of the Total Environment, 566–567, 1254–1267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Avila, J., Tauler, R., & Lacorte, S. (2012). Organic micropollutants in coastal waters from NW Mediterranean Sea: Sources distribution and potential risk. Environment International, 46, 50–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santhi, V. A., & Mustafa, A. M. (2013). Assessment of organochlorine pesticides and plasticisers in the Selangor River basin and possible pollution sources. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 1541–1554.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schettler, T. (2006). Human exposure to phthalates via consumer products. International Journal of Andrology, 29, 134–139.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siemers, A. K., Mänz, J. S., Palm, W. U., & Ruck, W. K. (2015). Development and application of a simultaneous SPE-method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs, heterocyclic PAHs (NSO-HET) and phenols in aqueous samples from German Rivers and the North Sea. Chemosphere, 122, 105–114.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simcik, M. F., Eisenreich, S. J., & Lioy, P. J. (1999). Source apportionment and source/sink relationships of PAHs in the coastal atmosphere of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Atmospheric Environment, 33, 5071–5079.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sofowote, U. M., McCarry, B. E., & Marvin, C. H. (2008). Source apportionment of PAH in Hamilton Harbour suspended sediments: Comparison of two factor analysis methods. Environmental Science and Technology, 42, 6007–6014.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stales, C. A., Peterson, D. R., Parkerton, T. F., & Adams, W. J. (1997). The environmental fate of phthalate esters: A literature review. Chemosphere, 35, 667–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, H. W., An, T. C., Li, G. Y., Qiao, M., & Wei, D. B. (2014). Distribution, possible sources, and health risk assessment of SVOC pollution in small streams in Pearl River Delta, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 21, 10083–10095.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, J. H., Wang, G. L., Chai, Y., Zhang, G., Li, J., & Feng, J. (2009). Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Henan Reach of the Yellow River, Middle China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 72, 1614–1624.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, L., He, M., Men, B., & Lin, C. (2009). Distribution and sources of organochlorine pesticides in water and sediments from Daliao River estuary of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea (China). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 84, 119–127.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang, Z., Huang, Q., Yang, Y., Zhu, X., & Fu, H. (2013). Organochlorine pesticides in the lower reaches of Yangtze River: Occurrence, ecological risk and temporal trends. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 87, 89–97.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., He, W., Qin, N., He, Q.-S., Kong, X.-Z., Tao, S., et al. (2013). Distributions, sources, and ecological risks of DDT-related contaminants in water, suspended particulate matter, and sediments from Haihe Plain, Northern China. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 1777–1790.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Simonich, S. L. M., Xue, M., Zhao, J., Zhang, N., Wang, R., et al. (2010). Concentrations, sources and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils from Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding areas, North China. Environmental Pollution, 158, 1245–1251.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong, J. K., An, T. C., Zhang, C. S., & Li, G. Y. (2015). Pollution profiles and risk assessment of PBDEs and phenolic brominated flame retardants in water environments within a typical electronic waste dismantling region. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 37, 457–473.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, S. Y., Huang, I. C., & Chang, B. V. (2010). Biodegradation of dibutyl phthalate and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and microbial community changes in mangrove sediment. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 184, 826–831.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yun, X., Yang, Y., Liu, M., Zhang, M., & Wang, J. (2016). Distribution, seasonal variations, and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the East Lake, China. CLEAN Soil, Air, Water, 44, 506–514.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L., Dong, L., Ren, L., Shi, S., Zhou, L., Zhang, T., et al. (2012). Concentration and source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalic acid esters in the surface water of the Yangtze River Delta, China. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 24, 335–342.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Z., Huang, J., Yu, G., & Hong, H. (2004). Occurrence of PAHs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the Tonghui River of Beijing, China. Environmental Pollution, 130, 249–261.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, X., Ding, J., & You, H. (2014). Spatial distribution and temporal trends of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment from Songhua River, China. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 36, 131–143.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, X., Chen, D., Liu, X., Zhou, Q., Liu, Y., Yang, W., et al. (2010). Spatial and seasonal variations of organochlorine compounds in air on an urban–rural transect across Tianjin, China. Chemosphere, 78, 92–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, B., Wang, L., Lei, K., & Nan, B. (2016). Distribution and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, suspended particulate matter and sediment from Daliao River estuary and the adjacent area, China. Chemosphere, 149, 91–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, X., Zhang, B. T., & Teng, Y. (2014). Distribution of phthalate acid esters in lakes of Beijing and its relationship with anthropogenic activities. Science of the Total Environment, 476–477, 107–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhi, H., Zhao, Z., & Zhang, L. (2015). The fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water from Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Chemosphere, 119, 1134–1140.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from NSFC-Guangdong Joint Funds (U1201234) and NSFC (41373103 and 41425015).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Jiao Tang & Taicheng An

  2. Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Taicheng An & Guiying Li

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jiao Tang

  4. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Chaohai Wei

Authors
  1. Jiao Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Taicheng An
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Guiying Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chaohai Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guiying Li.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 572 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tang, J., An, T., Li, G. et al. Spatial distributions, source apportionment and ecological risk of SVOCs in water and sediment from Xijiang River, Pearl River Delta. Environ Geochem Health 40, 1853–1865 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9929-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9929-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation