Persistent high concentrations of alkylphenols in landfilled waste

Abstract

Alkylphenols (APs), known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, are vital antioxidants in daily consumer products. As a municipal solid waste destination, landfilled waste might become a sink and a source of APs. In this study, we first confirmed the occurrence characteristics of 13 APs in landfilled waste from 2012 to 2020 at depths of 1–55 m. The total APs concentration in landfilled waste with different depth varied from 19.58 to 248.43 μg/g. The AP monomer concentration varied from 0.17 ± 0.24 to 146.92 ± 101.28 μg/g. From time series, the total AP concentration ranged from 19.14 ± 10.08 μg/g to 200.63 ± 88.47 μg/g. The landfilling time (p < 0.05) had a significant effect on the AP concentration. The Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR)-based the Ecological Structure Activity Relationships (ECOSAR) tool was used to evaluate ecological risks. The results indicated that from 2012 to 2020, APs posed moderate or high risks to the landfilling area. This study highlights the prominent existence of APs in landfilled waste and draws attention to the control of APs as contaminants of emerging concern for the waste sector.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Landfilled waste / Emerging pollutants / Ecological risk / QSAR model / Circular waste management

Highlight

	● 13 APs were detected in landfilled waste from 2012 to 2020 from the depth of 1–55 m.
	● M-Cresol were the most frequent APs in landfilled wastes.
	● Concentration of APs varied from 0.17 ± 0.24 to 146.92 ± 101.28 μg/g.
	● From 2012 to 2020, APs posed moderate risk or high risk to the landfilling area.

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