Abstract:
Objective To quantify the health risk level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in surface water of Jinshan District of Shanghai,thus provide a basis for water environment management.
Methods VOCs in 15 main rivers of Jinshan District were determined with gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS).Water environment health risk was evaluated using the carcinogens and non-carcinogens assessment models recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).
Results A total of 12 kinds of VOCs were detected in the 18 sampling points.Of them,butanone had the highest detection rate of 100%;while 1,4-dichlorobenzene,acetone,and carbon disulfide had the lowest detection rate of 5.56%,with the maximum concentration of 96.9 μg/L for acetone and the minimum concentration of 0.09 μg/L for dimethylbenzene.For non-carcinogenic risk,all the 18 sampling points showed risk levels less than 1,with the highest level found at sampling point 9 reaching 0.267.The non-carcinogenic risk of sampling point 9 was mainly composed of dichloromethane water drinking (accounted for 81.7% of the total risk).For the carcinogenic risk,all the 18 sampling points showed risk levels far less than 10-4,and there were 9 sampling sites with risk levels ranging from 10-6-10-4.The carcinogenic risk mainly consisted of dichloromethane,trichloroethylene,benzene,1,2-dichloroethane,and 1,4-dichlorobenzene.
Conclusion The overall non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of the surface water in Jinshan are lower than the recommended limits of the US EPA,indicating relatively low health risks and safe surface water environment.