The Distribution and Risk Assessment of Emerging Contaminants in Fengshan River

• Main Authors: Chen, Chia-Cheng, 陳家誠
• Other Authors: Hsieh, Chi-Ying Hsieh
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/a2nw97

碩士 === 國立屏東科技大學 === 環境工程與科學系所 === 106 === Water quality has always been one of the most important aspects in the process of watershed management due to its potential for affecting people's lives and health directly or indirectly. Studies have begun to focus on emerging environmental contaminants (ECs) in recent years. At present, the issue concerning whether ECs enter watersheds through direct discharge or incomplete treatment by sewage treatment plants is widely discussed, but harmful effects to biota have not been confirmed. The current research investigated ECs such as alkylphenolics (4n -NP, t-NP, OP, BPA, NP1EO, and NP2EO), an insect repellent (DEET), sunscreens (benzophenone, 4-MBC, and BP-3), antibacterial agents (TCC, PCMX, and TCS), estrogens (E1, E2, E3, EE2, and DES) and preservatives (MP, EP, PP, and BP) at 12 sampling sites in the Fengshan River Basin, which has received large amounts of industrial and household wastewaters. Samples were collected from three time-slots, including morning (08:00), noon (14:00), and evening (20:00), and from holiday and non-holiday periods. In addition to chemical analysis, acute and chronic toxicity data are used in collaboration to discuss the ecological risks associated with the compounds that exist in the highest concentrations. The results show that the water quality of the Fengshan River qualifies under the River Pollution Index (Recchia et al.) as moderately to seriously polluted. The concentrations of alkylphenolic compounds, which are common ingredient in detergents, exhibited marked differences, with holiday samples being 1.47 times higher than non-holiday samples. A difference was also observed in NP, which was 2.89 times higher during holidays than non-holidays. We speculate that increased household cleaning behavior during holidays led to the higher levels of alkylphenolic compounds and their decomposition byproducts being detected. In addition, it was found that the concentrations of antibacterial agents decreased significantly (8-33%) during the holiday period. Triclosan in samples collected from sites P4 and P10 were dramatically decreased from 778.9 ng/L and 644.6 ng/L in weekday sampling. It is speculated that some polluters along these two stations would be the major sources of antibacterial agents. The results of this study show that the average detection rate of BPA is as high as 95.8% and its concentrations detected by a combination of chemical analysis and toxicological data range from ND to 178.8 ng/L, indicating that BPA is widely present in this watershed. We conclude that BPA has no acute lethality effect; however, its chronic presence deserves more attention. Moreover, considering its high detection rate and physico-chemical properties, the amount of this compound in these sediments can affect benthic organisms. Further investigation should be conducted in order to more completely understand its ecological risks.