TY - JOUR
T1 - A nationwide survey of 31 organophosphate esters in sewage sludge from the United States
AU - Wang, Yu
AU - Kannan, Pranav
AU - Halden, Rolf
AU - Kannan, Kurunthachalam
N1 - Funding Information:
Analysis of the samples was performed at Wadsworth Center. Acquisition and archiving of the samples used in this study was supported in part by Award Number R01ES020889 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and by award LTR 05/01/12 of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/3/10
Y1 - 2019/3/10
N2 - Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are used as flame retardants and plasticizers in a wide range of consumer products. Nevertheless, studies on the occurrence and inventory of OPEs in sewage sludge are limited. In this study, 20 OP triesters and 11 diesters were measured in 75 archived sewage sludge samples collected from 67 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across the United States (US). The median concentrations of ∑20OP-triesters and ∑11OP-diesters in sludge were 1290 and 78.4 ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. Sludge samples originating from the Western and Northeastern US contained higher concentrations of OP triesters than did those from the Midwestern and Southern US. Sludge samples from WWTPs with larger treatment capacity (>38 million liters per day) contained higher concentrations of OP diesters (p < 0.05). OP diesters in sludge originated from two sources, triester degradation and direct inputs. Land application of sludge to US soils was estimated to result in annual mass inputs of 12,400–14,900 kg/year of OP triesters and 663–796 kg/year of OP diesters. A hazard assessment was performed for 14 OPEs found in sludge, which suggested a low level of risk at the current land application practices of sludge.
AB - Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are used as flame retardants and plasticizers in a wide range of consumer products. Nevertheless, studies on the occurrence and inventory of OPEs in sewage sludge are limited. In this study, 20 OP triesters and 11 diesters were measured in 75 archived sewage sludge samples collected from 67 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across the United States (US). The median concentrations of ∑20OP-triesters and ∑11OP-diesters in sludge were 1290 and 78.4 ng/g dry weight (dw), respectively. Sludge samples originating from the Western and Northeastern US contained higher concentrations of OP triesters than did those from the Midwestern and Southern US. Sludge samples from WWTPs with larger treatment capacity (>38 million liters per day) contained higher concentrations of OP diesters (p < 0.05). OP diesters in sludge originated from two sources, triester degradation and direct inputs. Land application of sludge to US soils was estimated to result in annual mass inputs of 12,400–14,900 kg/year of OP triesters and 663–796 kg/year of OP diesters. A hazard assessment was performed for 14 OPEs found in sludge, which suggested a low level of risk at the current land application practices of sludge.
KW - Degradation
KW - Emission
KW - Hazard assessment
KW - Organophosphate esters
KW - Sludge
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U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.224
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.224
M3 - Article
C2 - 30472646
AN - SCOPUS:85056814558
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 655
SP - 446
EP - 453
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -