A review of organophosphate esters in soil: Implications for the potential source, transfer, and transformation mechanism

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely used around the world as flame retardants and plasticizers with a growing production in the last 15 years due to the phase-out of polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Multiple papers reported the occurrences of OPEs in various environmental matrices and elevated concentrations of OPEs (0.1-10,000 ng/g dry weight) were documented in different types of soils which were regarded as both the sink and source of OPEs. In this study, the source, transfer, and transformation mechanisms of OPEs are systematically reviewed from the perspective of the soil environment. The wet/dry deposition, air-soil exchange, sewage irrigation, sludge application, and indirect oxidization of organophosphate antioxidants are the possible sources of OPEs in soil. Meanwhile, the OPEs in the soil environment may also migrate into other environmental media via plant uptake, air-soil exchange, desorption, and infiltration to cause relevant ecological risk, which depends much on the chemical properties of these compounds. The trimethylphenyl phosphate (TMPP) (mixture of isomers) and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), which have strong hydrophobicity, pose a higher ecological risk for the soil environment than other OPEs. Further, the hydrolysis, indirect photolysis, and biodegradation of OPEs in the soil environment may be affected by the soil pH, organic acid, dissolved metals and metal oxides, active oxygen species, and microorganisms significantly. Besides that, the human exposure risks of OPEs from the soil are limited compared to those via indoor dust and food ingestion pathways. Finally, this study identifies the knowledge gaps and generated the future perspectives of the OPEs in soil.

Automated summary

This study systematically reviewed the source, transfer, and transformation mechanisms of OPEs in the soil environment, pointing out possible sources including wet/dry deposition, air-soil exchange, sewage irrigation, sludge application, etc., while OPEs may migrate into other environmental media via plant uptake, air-soil exchange, causing relevant ecological risks.