| Phthalate esters (PEs) are widely used chemicals, with over 4 million tonnes being produced worldwide each year. To investigate PE bioaccumulation in a marine food web, a field study was conducted in False Creek Harbour, Vancouver, Canada. The study involved collecting samples of seawater, sediment and eighteen marine species. Samples were analyzed by GC-LRMS for eight individual phthalate congeners (i.e., dimethyl, diethyl, di-iso-butyl, di-n-butyl, butyl-benzyl, di(2-ethylhexyl), di-n-octyl, di-n-nonyl), and by LC-ESI/MS for five isomeric mixtures (i.e., di-iso-hexyl (C6), di-iso-heptyl (C7), di-iso-octyl (C8), di-iso-nonyl (C9), di-iso-decyl (C10)). Environmental concentrations were determined and corresponding fugacities were calculated. PE fugacities in the sediment were greater than those in the freely dissolved water fraction. The degree of sediment-water disequilibrium decreased with K OW from a factor of 17,700 for dimethyl phthalate to values between 2.7 and 44 for the other twelve PEs. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
