The concentrations of six organophosphate esters (OPEs) in atmospheric particle phase samples collected once every 12 days at five sites in the North American Great Lakes basin over the period March 2012 to December 2014, inclusive, are reported. These OPEs include: tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), and tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP), triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), and 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDP). Median total OPE concentrations ranged from 93 pg/m3 at Sleeping Bear Dunes to 1050 pg/m3 at Chicago. The total OPE levels were significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher at Chicago and Cleveland, our urban sites, than at our rural and remote sites. The composition profiles were dominated by chlorinated OPEs at the urban and rural sites and by non-chlorinated OPEs at the more remotes sites. The concentrations of all OPEs were significantly (p &lt; 0.001) correlated to one another, suggesting that these compounds share similar sources. Most atmospheric total OPE concentrations were significantly (p &lt; 0.05) decreasing over time, with halving times of about 3.5 years at the urban sites and about 1.5 years at the rural and remote sites. Interestingly, TCEP and EHDP concentrations were increasing over time at the rural and remote sites with doubling times of 2.2 and 3.7 years, respectively.

Spatial and temporal trends of particle phase organophosphate ester concentrations in the atmosphere of the Great Lakes

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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