Bisphenol-A extraction into water from a flexible PVC pond liner and its potential impact on artificial ponds

Bisphenol-A (BPA), a known ecological endocrine disruptor, is commonly used as an additive in the manufacture of flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membranes. To assess the potential of artificial pond PVC liners as sources of BPA contamination, a laboratory extraction of BPA from a liner into water was conducted. The average blank-corrected BPA released by the liner, on a BPA/liner mass basis, was 28.4 ± 5.8 μg g−1. On the basis of surface area the amount released was 0.84 ± 0.16 μg cm−2. Given this quantity of BPA in a liner, a simple release model indicates that PVC pond liners are a potentially significant source of exposure of artificial pond aquatic organisms to BPA.