Occurrence and ecological risk assessment for organophosphate esters in Luoma Lake

Abstract Organophosphate esters (OPEs) as plasticizers and flame retardants are ubiquitous in various environments. The concentration, distribution and risk of OPEs has caused global concern in recent years. The Luoma Lake is one of drinking water source and four major freshwater in the Jiangsu provinces. The aim of this study is to investigate the pollution level of 11 OPEs in surface water and sediment of Luoma Lake within inflowing and outflowing river. The total concentration of 11 OPEs in the water and sediment were 1751–3967 ng/L and 288–513 µg/kg (ww), respectively. The concentration of 11 OPEs in Fangting River were higher than that in Yi River. Tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) were the most abundant in the surface water. Tri-p-tolyl phosphate (TPTP) and Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) were the most abundant in the sediment. From the ecological risk, TPhP and TCIPP were the most significant contributors with moderate to high risk at all sampling sites, whereas most other OPEs posed low risk to the aquatic environment.