Pollution characteristics and risk assessment of 15 organic phosphorus flame retardants in the Ili River Basin

Abstract A solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-pulsed flame photometric detector (SPE-GC-PFPD) was developed to determine 15 organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in surface water of the Ili River basin. The recovery ranged from 76.4% to 98.6%, showing a good linear relationship. Four OPFRs were identified among them, with mean concentrations of 20, 28, 36, and 21 ng/L. The ecological risk of flame retardants in water was assessed using the risk entropy method. The ecological risk quotient (RQ) was calculated as 0.1, indicating a moderate to low level of risk. The noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with the four OPFRs were found to be below their respective risk thresholds, suggesting negligible health risks from drinking water intake. The frequent detection of TiBP, TCEP, TCPP, and TDCPP warrants further attention.