Occurrence And Health Risk Assessment Of Organophosphate Flame Retardants In Drinking Water And Air

Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are widely used in a variety of commercial products, including plastics, foams, paints, textiles, and furniture. Previous studies have demonstrated that OPFRs have toxic effects on living organisms. Because OPFRs are added to products instead of being chemically bonded to them, these substances can easily diffuse into surrounding environments. OPFRs have been detected in various environmental media, such as air, water, including surface water and ground water, sediment, and living organism. Researchers in China mostly focus on the synthesis and performance optimization of OPFRs. However, few literatures on concentration levels and distribution have been reported.In this study, a trace analytical method based on UPLC-MS/MS was established for simultaneous determination of nine OPFRs in drinking water and air samples. The pretreatment of this method was simple and easily carried out. Good QA/QC data were obtained. The results showed that the detection rate of OPFRs in drinking water was100%, and concentration levels were similar to those of other countries. OPFRs in Chinese drinking water ranged from85.1ng/L to325ng/L, with a mean of165ng/L. The most common OPFRs detected in tap water were TBEP, TPP, and TCPP, at mean concentrations of70.1ng/L,40.0ng/L, and33.4ng/L, respectively. The concentration levels of OPFRs in bottled water were10-25%of those in tap water, with TBEP of19.5-81.7ng/L, which exhibited the highest concentration among detected OPFRs. All air samples contained OPFRs. Mean values ofPFRs in air were63.5ng/m3and65.3ng/m3at home and in offices, respectively, and were81.7μg/g and103μg/g in particle matter. No significant differences were found between these two indoor environments. TCEP, TPP and TCPP exhibited the highest levels. OPFRs in suspended particles with different diameters ranged from4.80-9.26ng/m3. It was interesting to find that OPFRs were inclined to absorb on the particles with larger diameters. The concentration levels of OPFRs were much lower in ourdoor air, with the concentration of0.21-5.27ng/m3in particle matter. Finally, we assessed the health risks of OPFRs in drinking water and air. It was found that drinking water ingestion was also an important way for human exposure to OPFRs, just like the respiration which many literatures have improved.