Occurrence, Phase Distribution, and Mass Loadings of Benzothiazoles in Riverine Runoff of the Pearl River Delta, China

A set of six benzothiazoles was determined in riverine runoff samples of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) collected monthly from March 2005 to February 2006. The concentrations of total benzothiazoles ranged from 220 to 611 ng/L, with benzothiazole (BT) being the most prominent (82%), followed by 2-methylthiobenzothiazole (MBT), thianaphthene (TN), and triphenylene (TP). The annual fluxes of TN, BT, MBT, dibenzothiophene (DBT), 2-(4-morpholinyl)benzothiazole (24MoBT), and TP from the PRD to the coastal ocean were 1.94, 65.1, 10.1, 0.63, 0.18, and 0.89 tons/yr, summing to yield an annual flux of 79 tons/yr for total benzothiazoles. In the PRD, approximately 1.1 × 105 tons of rubber are estimated to be released into the environment each year. This corresponds to the annual fluxes of 13 tons/yr for BT and 0.4 tons/yr for 24MoBT from tire particles. The annual fluxes of BT from scrap tires from Japan, Korea, Brazil, the European Union, the United States, and China were 99, 21, 36, 270, 328, and 120 tons/yr, respectively. The fluxes of 24MoBT from the same countries were 3.0, 0.5, 1.1, 8.4, 10.3, and 3.8 tons/yr, respectively. These results indicated that tire-wear particles and scrap tires are the dominant sources of benzothiazoles in the environment. By comparison, Asia may be the major contributor to the global input of benzothiazoles from auto tires in the coming years. Overall, the six benzothiazoles under investigation appeared to be suitable tracers of pollutant inputs to surface runoff within the PRD aquatic system. In addition, 24MoBT seemed more appropriate than BT to trace tire rubber residues and therefore can be a good indicator of economic development and urbanization in a specific region.