Spatial distribution, historical trend, and ecological risk assessment of phthalate esters in sediment from Taihu Lake, China

In this study, the distribution of phthalate esters (PAEs) in twenty surface sediment and five core sediment samples in Taihu Lake, China, was investigated, and their ecological risks were assessed. Of the 10 PAE congeners, five PAEs including diethyl phthalate (DEP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DIBP), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were identified and quantified, and the rest 5 PAEs were below the limits of quantification. The concentrations of the total PAEs (ΣPAEs) in surface sediments and core sediments varied from 1.12 × 10 3 to 18.71 × 10 3 ng/g and 0.23 × 10 3 to 5.22 × 10 3 ng/g, respectively. The dominant PAEs were DBP and DIBP, contributing 85.90% to the ΣPAEs. Overall, the highest concentrations of ΣPAEs occurred in northern lake, followed by eastern lake and western lake, and southern lake was the least polluted area. The spatial distribution of ΣPAEs in sediments showed that the PAE distribution pattern was influenced by the riverside environment. The historical trend of the past 100 years was reconstructed in the core sediment via a 210 Pb dating technique. The vertical profile of the PAE congeners indicated that concentrations of PAEs started to increase since the 1990s in northern core sediments. It was estimated that the inventories of ΣPAEs in Taihu Lake was 4868.01 t. The potential ecological risk assessment by hazard quotient (HQ) method revealed that DBP posed a moderate risk due to its relatively high concentrations, with DIBP posed a low risk, while DEP, DMP, and DEHP exhibited no risk to the aquatic system.