Spatiotemporal distribution and potential ecological risks of current-use pesticides (CUPs) in Laizhou Bay, China

Pesticides occur widely in coastal waters and potentially pose a risk to marine ecosystems and human health. The spatiotemporal distribution of current-use pesticides (CUPs) was studied in Laizhou Bay (LZB) and the Xiaoqing River watershed in China during the summer of 2022 and spring of 2023. The pesticide composite index (PCI) and persistence index (PI) were established in association with the risk quotient (RQ) to assess the ecological risk in LZB. In this study, 17 and 12 kinds of CUP were detected in rivers and LZB seawater, respectively, with atrazine and neonicotinoid insecticides (NEOs) being the most frequently detected CUPs at higher concentrations. The average concentration of CUPs decreased from rivers to the coast and towards the center of the LZB, with higher levels in spring and lower levels in summer in rivers and a reversed pattern in seawater. The high-risk areas lie in the LZB coastal area and the estuary. Atrazine, chlorpyrifos, and imidacloprid might pose a high risk to aquatic organisms based on the RQ in the LZB, whereas the priority concern pesticides are atrazine and triazophos based on the PCI and PI. This study is of great significance for assessing the composite ecological risk of CUPs in aquatic environments.