The screening of priority pollutants in the Bohai Sea based on ecological risk assessment

Shang Li; Jingjing Miao; Ping Wang; Yanbin Li

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106921

The screening of priority pollutants in the Bohai Sea based on ecological risk assessment

Mar Environ Res. 2024 Dec 20:204:106921. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106921. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shang Li¹, Jingjing Miao², Ping Wang³, Yanbin Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China.
² The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China.
³ Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266061, China.
⁴ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China. Electronic address: liyanbin@ouc.edu.cn.

PMID: 39721558
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106921

Abstract

The Bohai Sea (BS) is a semi-enclosed inland sea and China's most polluted coastal sea. With the rapid economic development of the circum-Bohai Sea region, large amounts of pollutants have been discharged into the BS, posing a significant threat to human health and the ecosystem. Great efforts have been made on investigating the levels of various pollutants in the BS; however, the priority pollutants which are required for the implementation of suitable environmental management and remediation measures in this system remain unclear. By using the risk quotient method, this study evaluated the ecological risks of various pollutants (including antibiotics, heavy metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and persistent organic pollutants) in BS water and sediments over the past twelve years to identify the priority pollutants in this system. The results showed that 8 and 10 pollutants were at risk in BS water and sediments, respectively. Overall, 13 pollutants (arsenic (As), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), TPHs, bisphenol A (BPA), erythromycin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) in the BS were identified to have potential risks and should be included in the list of priority pollutants. The monitoring of the changes in the contents of these pollutants in BS water and sediments needs to be strengthened in the future.

Keywords: Bohai sea; Ecological risk assessment; Multi-pollutant; Priority pollutants.