Bisphenol Analogues in
Sediments from Industrialized
Areas in the United States, Japan, and Korea: Spatial and Temporal
Distributions
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Abstract
Bisphenol analogues are used in the production of polycarbonate
plastics and epoxy resins. Despite the widespread use of bisphenols,
few studies have reported the occurrence of compounds other than bisphenol
A (BPA) in sediment. In this study, concentrations and profiles of
eight bisphenol analogues were determined using high-performance liquid
chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) in sediments
collected from several industrialized areas in the United States (U.S.),
Japan, and Korea. The total concentrations of bisphenols (ΣBPs;
sum of eight bisphenols) in sediment ranged from below the limit of
quantitation (LOQ) to 25 300 ng/g dry weight (dw), with a mean
value of 201 ng/g dw. Sediment samples from Lake Shihwa, Korea, contained
the highest concentrations of both individual and total bisphenols.
Among individual bisphenols, BPA and bisphenol F (BPF) were the predominant
compounds, accounting for 64% and 30% of the total bisphenol concentrations
in sediment. We also examined vertical profiles of concentrations
of bisphenol analogues in sediment cores from the U.S. and Japan.
Sediment cores from the U.S. showed a gradual decline in the concentrations
of bisphenols as compared to the past decade. BPA concentrations were
found to decline in a sediment core from Tokyo Bay, but bisphenol
S (BPS) was more frequently detected in core sections that represent
the most recent decade, which is consistent with the replacement of
BPA with BPS in some applications since 2001 in Japan