Deposition records of persistent organic pollutants and black carbon in dated sediment cores from China marginal seas: Implications for terrestrial sources and transport processes

Exploring factors influencing the spatial distribution and seasonal changes of BPA, TBBPA, and 20 analogs in China's marginal seas

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.

Distribution characteristics and migration trends of hexabromocyclododecanes between seawater-sediment system in different seasons of fishing grounds along the Yellow sea and East China sea coasts

Pollutants in the ecological environment of fishery seawater are harmful to the survival and reproduction of aquatic organisms. Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were 42.9% detected within ND-48.89 ng/L in 177 seawater samples and 30.7% within ND-1.07 ng/g dw in 88 sediment samples of the fisheries in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, respectively. γ-HBCD accounted for 65% of seawater and 89% of sediment samples. HBCDs in seawater in winter (ND-48.89 ng/L) were significantly higher than in summer (ND-4.99 ng/L), possibly because the re-suspension caused by winds and waves could re-migrate HBCDs from the sediment to the seawater in winter. However, seasonal differences of HBCDs in sediment were not significant. The fugacities indicated HBCDs' migrating trend from seawater to sediment due to their hydrophobic nature. There is almost no terrestrial input of HBCDs from the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and currently used fishery materials in marine may compose long-lasting sources of HBCDs.

Mode of Atmospheric Deposition in Forests Demonstrates Notable Differences in Initial Radiocesium Behavior

The March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan released 520 PBq of radionuclides compared to a total release of 5300 PBq from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. Both nuclear accidents resulted in deposition of radiocesium throughout the northern hemisphere, and a plethora of studies have been performed regarding radiocesium (¹³⁷Cs) behavior. However, few studies have assessed the impact of precipitation on ¹³⁷Cs deposition in forests. Wide-scale environmental measurements from 2011 and 2016 were used to determine the differences in ¹³⁷Cs deposition because of precipitation following the Fukushima accident. In areas where wet deposition processes were dominant, dense forests generally had lower ambient dose rates and levels of contamination on forest floors than other stands with fewer stems per hectare in 2011. Similar tendencies were not observed in areas that were primarily subject to dry deposition nor were any trends observed in 2016. ¹³⁷Cs was retained in dense forest canopies for an extended period regardless of the deposition mode. Additionally, it was found that the initial retention of radionuclides by forest canopies is in general higher for areas with predominantly dry deposition. Incorporation of radiocesium into wood tissues was the same for both wet and dry deposition.