Deriving the freshwater quality criteria of BPA, BPF and BPAF for protecting aquatic life

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been recognized by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) as an endocrine disruptor, and its use in thermo paper has been restricted from 2020 under the Regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). However, substances with similar structures such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) are widely used as BPA substitutes and commonly detected in aquatic environments. In this study, the water quality criteria of BPA, BPAF and BPF for protecting the aquatic life were derived to provide safety thresholds for their environment risk management. To accomplish this, the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method was applied based on ecotoxicity data available in the literature and the supplementary toxicity test results for BPF and BPAF towards Marisa cornuarietis, Chironomus tentans and Scenedesmus obliquus. When compared with BPF, BPAF was found to be more acutely and chronically toxic to Marisa cornuarietis, Chironomus tentans and Scenedesmus obliquus, among which Chironomus tentans showed the most sensitivity. The criteria maximum concentrations (CMCs) of BPA, BPF and BPAF were derived to be 520, 227, and 43.4 μg‧L−1, while the criteria continuous concentrations (CCCs) were 7.50, 54.0 and 26.4 μg‧L−1, respectively. These findings indicate that BPA, BPF and BPAF posed negligible risks in typical rivers and lakes with available exposure concentrations because their measured concentrations are below their CCCs.