Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in the lower yangtze river and surface waters of three Chinese provinces

Water samples were collected from the drinking water source of 21 urban areas from the lower Yangtze River at Jiangsu province and various surface drinking water sources of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong provinces of China. They were tested for 25 VOCs and 38 SVOCs using purge and trap (P&T) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show there were 19 VOCs and 10 SVOCs detected several times in at least one drinking water source. One hundred and twenty-six samples from 21 sampling sites were found to have organic compound pollutants in the range of less than MDL to 27.79 μg/L, including volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons, BTEX, chlorinated benzenes, phenols, nitrobenzene, phthalate esters, pesticides, et al. – in total 21 types of organic compounds considered to be priority water pollutants by the Chinese Department of Water Resources. However, the concentrations of VOCs and SVOCs in samples from the lower Yangtze River were markedly different from those in surface drinking water sources in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong provinces. PAEs were detected in all water samples, but PCP and Rogor were only detected in samples from the lower Yangtze River. It should be noted that the majority of water samples with detected atrazine were from Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. The main SVOCs detected in the Yangtze River included PCP, Rogor, nitrobenzene, and PAEs. More pollutants were detected in the surface waters of Jiangsu than those of Zhejiang and Shandong. Among the surface water sources in Zhejiang, there were more species of VOCs and SVOCs in the Shanhusha Reservoir than the other reservoirs, which may have resulted from pollutants in Qiantang River water. Though the types and levels of water pollutants varied from one region to another in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong provinces, our report added new evidence that the Yangtze River and other urban surface water sources have been universally polluted, and we recommend that all potential sources should be traced and mediated. In addition, because these persistent pollutants may be a health risk if transferred to drinking water, drinking water quality must be controlled specifically for certain VOC's and installation of a monitoring program/quality control for drinking water resources is needed.