Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2025
Investigating Long-Distance Transport of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in Wheat via a Split-Root Exposure Technique
Published on: September 28, 2022
Occurrence and Distribution of Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Tap Water System-Implications for Human Exposure
Yuan-Shen Zhu1,2, Lei Zheng1,2, Wei-Wei Zheng3,4
1Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200136, China.
Background:
The pollution of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) is of global concern, but the site-specific data of OPFR concentrations in drinking water are scarce for many areas of the world outside of Europe and the US. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and profiles of OPFRs in the tap water treatment and delivery process in Shanghai.
Methods:
In total, 106 samples were analyzed for 10 OPFRs, which were collected periodically from monitoring points of drinking water treatment plants and piped water between November 2021 and July 2023. The average daily doses of OPFRs through the ingestion of tap water were calculated by multiplying nominal volumes of water ingestion rates with the measured concentrations of OPFRs. Hazard quotients, the hazard index, and the carcinogenic risks of OPFRs via drinking water were used to estimate the health risks.
Results:
Tributyl phosphate (TBP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), and tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) were found in >90% of the tap water samples, whereas triethyl phosphate (TEP) and tris (2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate (TDBPP) were not found in any samples. The concentrations of Σ10OPFRs were found at part-per-trillion ranges, with average concentrations that ranged from 86.0 ng/L in February 2023 (dry season) to 218 ng/L in July 2022 (wet season). TCIPP was the most abundant compound among the investigated OPFRs. The average daily dose of Σ10OPFRs via the ingestion of tap water was up to 20.4 ng/kg body weight/day. The hazard quotients of OPFRs through drinking water were in the range of 10-5-10-4, indicating low risk levels. Moreover, the hazard index of OPFRs indicated that the risk for children (2 × 10-4) was higher than adults (7 × 10-5).
Conclusion:
Tap water intake may be an important source of OPFRs exposure. But the risk of OPFRs for local residents is at a low level through drinking water.
More Related Videos
09:04Identifying Per- and Polyfluorinated Chemical Species with a Combined Targeted and Non-Targeted-Screening High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Workflow
Published on: April 18, 2019
16:02Demonstration of the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility Tool for Rapid Assessment of Protein Conservation
Published on: February 10, 2023
