Occurrence, Potential Sources, and Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Han River Basin, South Korea

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2021 Apr 30

PMID 33918372

Citations 2

Authors

Jong Kwon Im

Soon Ju Yu

Sujin Kim

Sang Hun Kim

Hye Ran Noh

Moon Kyung Kim

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Increasing public awareness about the aesthetics and safety of water sources has shifted researchers' attention to the adverse effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on humans and aquatic organisms. A total of 17 VOCs, including 10 volatile halogenated hydrocarbons and seven volatile non-halogenated hydrocarbons, were investigated at 36 sites of the Han River Basin, which is the largest and most important drinking water source for residents of the Seoul metropolitan area and Gyeonggi province in South Korea. The VOC concentrations ranged from below detection limits to 1.813 µg L. The most frequently detected VOC was 1,2-dichloropropane, with a detection frequency of 80.56%, as it is used as a soil fumigant, chemical intermediate, and industrial solvent. In terms of geographical trends, the sampling sites that were under the influence of sewage and industrial wastewater treatment plants were more polluted with VOCs than other areas. This observation was also supported by the results of the principal component analysis. In the present study, the detected concentrations of VOCs were much lower than that of the predicted no-effect concentrations, suggesting low ecological risk in the Han River. However, a lack of available ecotoxicity data and limited comparable studies warrants further studies on these compounds.

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