Occurrence and Concentrations of Estrogenic Phenolic Compounds in Surface Waters of Rivers Flowing into Masan Bay, Korea

Abstract

The estrogenic phenolic compounds, nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol(OP), bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol mono- and diethoxylate (NP1-2EO) were analyzed in 24 surface water samples from six rivers flowing into Masan Bay. All of the phenolic compounds were detected in all six rivers in high concentrations. The most abundant compound was NP1-2EO (86.0%), followed by NP (10.1%), BPA (3.6%) and OP (0.3%). The levels of phenolic compounds were 1.42-22.70 µg/L for NP1-2EO, 0.15-1.68 µg/L for NP, 0.024-0.610 µg/L for BPA and 0.003-0.067 µg/L for OP. Especially, high concentrations were recorded in the rivers that pass through industrial complexes. The concentrations of phenolic compounds observed in these river waters were 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the reported acute toxicity levels (hundreds of micrograms per liter). However, they were only slightly lower than the chronic toxicity levels. Most of the water samples also exceeded the Canadian nonylphenolic compounds water quality guideline, 1 µg/L, for the protection of aquatic life and the maximum permissible concentrations (MPC), 0.33 µg/L for NP and 0.12 µg/L for NP1-2EO.