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Distribution, potential source and ecotoxicological risk of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the surface water of the Three Gorges Dam region of the Yangtze River, China

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Abstract

Distributions, potential sources and ecotoxicological risks of PCBs and PBDEs in surface water of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) region (Yangtze River, China) were investigated. Samples were collected from 18 sites from upstream (UTGD) and downstream (DTGD) of the TGD. Thirty-two PCBs and ten PBDEs were analyzed. ΣPCBs from the UTGD and DTGD ranged from 10.6 to 26.1 and 1.7 to 29.8 ng L−1, respectively. ΣPBDEs from the UTGD and DTGD ranged from 2.0 to 17.6 and 0.8 to 11.1 ng L−1, respectively. The total concentrations of PCBs and PBDEs showed a declining trend from the UTGD to DTGD. Independent-samples t test analysis showed no statistical significance of ΣPCBs and ΣPBDEs between the UTGD and DTGD samples. Principal component analysis indicated the difference of potential sources and levels of PCBs and PBDEs in the study area. The potential eco-toxicological risk of PCBs in surface water of the TGD region is very low, whereas special attention needs to be paid to PBDEs in the study area.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the “Hundred Talents Program”, the Knowledge Innovative Key Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences to Jun Wang (Y329671K01). Assistance was greatly appreciated from Ying Jiang in the core facility center.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jing Ge, Xiaoyan Yun, Minxia Liu, Yuyi Yang, Miaomiao Zhang & Jun Wang

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  1. Jing Ge
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  2. Xiaoyan Yun
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  3. Minxia Liu
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  4. Yuyi Yang
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  5. Miaomiao Zhang
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  6. Jun Wang
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Correspondence to Jun Wang.

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Ge, J., Yun, X., Liu, M. et al. Distribution, potential source and ecotoxicological risk of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the surface water of the Three Gorges Dam region of the Yangtze River, China. Ecotoxicology 23, 978–987 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1241-7

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