Papers

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Article Tier 2

Occurrences of organophosphorus esters and phthalates in the microplastics from the coastal beaches in north China

Researchers investigated organophosphorus esters and phthalates associated with microplastics collected from 28 coastal beaches across the Bohai and Yellow Sea in northern China, finding that these plastic-associated chemical pollutants may transfer to organisms via plastic ingestion.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 176 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and risks of microplastics and phthalate esters in the transition from inland river systems to estuarine and nearshore regions of the Yellow Sea, China

Researchers mapped the distribution of microplastics and phthalate chemicals across rivers, estuaries, and nearshore waters of the Yellow Sea in China. They found that pollution levels were highest in upstream urban areas and decreased toward more rural downstream zones, with fibers and polyethylene being the most common types. The study highlights how inland human activity drives microplastic and chemical contamination that eventually reaches the ocean.

2025 Marine Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics and Health Risks of Phthalate Ester Contamination in Soil and Plants in Coastal Areas of South China

Researchers investigated phthalate ester contamination across 37 sites in coastal South China, finding widespread contamination in both soil and plants with concentrations posing potential health risks, particularly from the plasticizers DEHP and DBP.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Risk Assessment of Phthalate Esters in Baiyangdian Lake and Typical Rivers in China

Researchers assessed phthalate ester contamination in Baiyangdian Lake and surrounding rivers in China, finding widespread distribution of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals at concentrations that pose ecological risks to aquatic organisms, particularly during warmer seasons.

2023 Toxics 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Contaminant occurrence, distribution and ecological risk assessment of phthalate esters in the Persian Gulf

This study measured phthalate esters, chemicals commonly used as plastic softeners, in water samples from the Persian Gulf and assessed their ecological risk. Several phthalate compounds were detected at levels that pose potential risks to aquatic organisms. These chemicals are classified as endocrine disruptors and possible carcinogens, and since they leach from microplastics in water, their presence highlights how plastic pollution can introduce harmful chemicals into marine environments and the seafood supply.

2023 PLoS ONE 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Phthalate esters in the Largest River of Asia: An exploration as indicators of microplastics

Researchers conducted the first investigation of phthalate ester (PAE) pollution throughout Yangtze River sediments, finding 14 of 16 PAE types at all sites with concentrations related to urbanization and industrial activity, and explored their potential as chemical proxy indicators for microplastic pollution patterns. Strong correlations between PAEs and microplastic distribution suggest that PAEs could serve as soluble chemical tracers for microplastic contamination in large river systems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

PAEs and PBDEs in plastic fragments and wetland sediments in Yangtze estuary

Researchers quantified phthalates (PAEs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in plastic fragments and wetland sediments from the Yangtze Estuary, finding ΣPAE concentrations of 26.8-4241.8 µg/g and ΣPBDE concentrations up to 250.1 µg/g in plastic samples, confirming that plastic debris acts as a reservoir for these hazardous additives in estuarine environments.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Contamination of Phthalic Acid Esters (PAEs) in Surface Sediment Samples Collected from Rao Cai River in Ha Tinh, Vietnam

Researchers optimized a solid phase extraction combined with GC-MS method to quantify nine phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in surface sediment samples from the Rao Cai River in Ha Tinh, Vietnam, finding total PAE concentrations ranging from 72.4 to 1390 ng/g dry weight. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was the dominant compound detected across all samples, and risk quotient analysis indicated that diisobutyl phthalate posed a medium ecological risk to fish.

2024 VNU Journal of Science Natural Sciences and Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Phthalate esters and plastic debris abundance in the Red Sea and Sharm Obhur and their ecological risk level.

Researchers measured plastic debris and phthalate ester concentrations in seawater from the Red Sea, finding both were present and correlated with each other. Phthalates are chemical plasticizers that leach from plastic debris, raising concerns about combined exposure to plastic particles and their associated chemical pollutants in marine environments.

2022 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Assessing the potential risk and relationship between microplastics and phthalates in surface seawater of a heavily human-impacted metropolitan bay in northern China

A survey of Jiaozhou Bay in northern China found a strong correlation between microplastic abundance and concentrations of phthalate plasticizers in surface seawater, with both higher near river inputs and sewage treatment plants. The ecological risk from phthalates was moderate for one compound (di-n-butyl phthalate), and overall microplastic pollution levels were also moderate.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and distribution of microplastics-sorbed phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in coastal psammitic sediments of tropical Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Guinea

Researchers investigated microplastic pollution and phthalate ester (PAE) contamination in littoral sediments at five beaches along the Gulf of Guinea, finding 3424 microplastic particles per square meter dominated by PET fragments. Ecological risk assessment indicated that DEHP and dibutyl phthalate sorbed to microplastics pose medium to high biological risks to marine organisms in the region.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution Dynamics of Phthalate Esters in Surface Water and Sediment of the Middle-Lower Hanjiang River, China

Researchers investigated the distribution dynamics of six phthalate ester congeners in surface water and sediment of the middle-lower Hanjiang River in China, assessing the migration, transformation, and potential human health risks of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Study of the Spatiotemporal Variations, Source Determination, and Potential Ecological Risk of Organophosphate Esters in Typical Coastal Tourist Resorts in China

This study analyzed the spatial distribution and ecological risk of twelve organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants in water and sediment from nineteen coastal tourist resorts along China's Shandong Peninsula. OPEs are plastic additives and flame retardants that leach from plastic products into the environment, and their co-occurrence with microplastics in coastal waters represents a combined chemical pollution concern.

2023 Water 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in sediments from the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, China

Researchers sampled sediments from the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea and found widespread microplastic contamination, with fibers and fragments as the dominant forms, and higher concentrations near river mouths and urban coastlines.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 531 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution of phthalates in Marseille Bay (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Researchers measured six phthalate plasticizer compounds in seawater from Marseille Bay over a full year, finding total concentrations of 130–1,330 ng/L dominated by DEHP, with elevated bottom-water levels in summer suggesting that resuspension of phthalate-laden sediment or plastic debris drives seasonal contamination patterns.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 116 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence of Phthalate Esters Used as Common Plasticisers in Maltese Shoreline Sand

Researchers conducted the first study of phthalate plasticisers DBP and DEHP in Maltese shoreline sand, analyzing 75 samples from busy and secluded beaches via UPLC-MS/MS. Concentrations varied significantly by beach, with anthropogenic activities and beach topography driving uneven spatial distributions of both compounds.

2023 Environments 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Phthalate diester occurrence in marine feed and food (Mediterranean Sea)

Researchers detected phthalate diesters in Mediterranean Sea zooplankton, fish, and bivalves, with DEHP found in all zooplankton samples and 30% of fish, demonstrating how microplastics transport these endocrine-disrupting chemicals through marine food webs.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentrations and distribution of phthalate esters in the seamount area of the Tropical Western Pacific Ocean

Researchers investigated phthalate ester (PAE) concentrations in seawater at the M2 seamount in the Tropical Western Pacific Ocean, finding total PAE concentrations ranging from 12.13 to 60.69 ng/L and dominated by DBP, DEHP, and DiBP. The spatial distribution of PAEs was shaped by current-seamount interactions, with lower concentrations above the seamount summit.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, source and mass budget of sedimentary microplastics in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

The fate, sources, and mass budget of microplastics in sediments of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea were investigated, finding average abundances of 137 and 119 items/kg respectively and identifying land-based river inputs and fisheries activities as dominant sources.

2021 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of plastic pollution in the Bohai Sea: Abundance, distribution, morphological characteristics and chemical components

Plastic pollution in the surface water and sediments of China's Bohai Sea was assessed, finding widespread contamination with fragments and pellets, and identifying shipping, river discharge, and coastal aquaculture as major sources.

2021 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in offshore sediment in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, China

Microplastics were found in offshore sediment samples from the Southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea, with concentrations and polymer types reflecting both local and distant anthropogenic sources. The study expands the known distribution of seafloor microplastic contamination in China's coastal seas and identifies fishing activities as a likely contributor.

2018 Environmental Pollution 312 citations
Article Tier 2

A case study of distribution and characteristics of microplastics in surface water and sediments of the seas around Shenzhen, southern coastal area of China

This study characterized microplastics in surface water and sediments at 14 sites in the seas around Shenzhen, China, finding concentrations of 3.8 to 7.8 particles per liter in water and 26,000 to 100,000 particles per kilogram in sediments. Fibers and films dominated, polyethylene was the main polymer, and ecological risk was assessed as high, with microplastic abundance correlating with urbanization rate.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Organophosphate Triesters and Their Transformation Products in Sediments of Mangrove Wetlands in the Beibu Gulf, South China Sea

Researchers measured organophosphate ester pollutants and their breakdown products in sediments from three mangrove wetlands in China's Beibu Gulf for the first time. They found these contaminants were present at all sampling sites, with mangrove wetlands retaining higher concentrations than adjacent areas. The study indicates that mangrove sediments serve as sinks for these emerging pollutants, which are commonly associated with plastic products and flame retardants.

2024 Molecules 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Phthalates Be Considered as Microplastic Tracers in the Mediterranean Marine Environment?

This study assessed whether phthalate plasticizers could serve as tracers for microplastic pollution in Mediterranean coastal waters, examining their occurrence, distribution, and interactions with the marine environment in one of the world's plastic pollution hotspots.

2024 Environments 9 citations