Determination and assessment of phthalate esters content in sediments from Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are known organic endocrine disruptors. The distribution of 10 PAEs in sediments of Kaohsiung Harbor of Taiwan was studied using organic solvents extraction and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The average concentration of total PAEs (ΣPAEs) in the sediment was 8713 ± 11,454 ng/g dw with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) (3630 ng/g-dw) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) (3497 ng/g dw) being the major species, which constitutes of 41.7% and 40.1% of ΣPAEs. PAEs concentration was relatively high near the river mouths, especially in Love River mouth, and diminished toward the harbor. Based on the sediment quality guidelines developed from previous studies, several of the observed PAE levels exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level, especially for DEHP and thus may cause adverse effect in aquatic organisms.