Trace analysis of persistent toxic substances in the main stream of Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River, China

Background, aim, and scope The Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River is the downstream of the whole river, serving as an important drinking water source. Persistent toxic substances (PTS), from the industries such as automobile, textile, chemical, and electronic production, are not listed in the National Standard yet and not monitored and controlled. However, pollution of PTS can threaten the environment and human health. In order to understand the pollution status of the PTS contamination and recommend future rationalization of countermeasure, the PTS including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), and phthalates (PAEs) were investigated. Materials and methods Samples were collected at 15 sites from five main stream sections of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province. PTS were extracted using solid phase extract method. The analysis of OCPs, PCBs was performed using GC/ECD and PAHs, PAEs was performed by GC/MS. Results and discussions The method detection limits are low and the recoveries are from 58.1% to 110.3%. The total concentrations of OCPs, PCBs, PAHs, and PAEs were 0.27∼2.15 ng l⁻¹,