Exploring Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Changes of BPA, TBBPA, and 20 analogs in China’s Marginal Seas

Abstract

As emerging pollutants, bisphenol A (BPA), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and its analogs have become widespread in the coastal environment of China. To investigate the occurrence of these novel contaminants in Chinese marginal sea, 176 seawater and 88 sediment samples were collected from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. In seawater and sediment, the detection rates of TBBPA are 83.9% and 100%, BPA and 20 analogs were within 1.7%-93.7% and 1.1%-100%, respectively. In seawater, the concentrations of TBBPA and analogs were significantly higher in winter than in summer. But in sediment, there were no significant seasonal differences. The distribution of targets in 28 sampling points of the Yellow River and Yangtze River showed that industrial point source emissions have a greater impact on concentration. Fugacity analysis showed that BPA tends to diffuse from seawater to sediment while the TBBPA did the opposite. The maximum hazard quotients (HQ) of TBBPA and its analogs for three aquatic organisms indicated that they have high ecological risks, especially for complex organisms. Five suspected metabolites were identified by non-targeted screening. This study provides novel insights into the pollution status, dispersal behavior, and ecological risk of TBBPA and its analogs in the marine environment.