Distribution of methylsiloxanes in benthic mollusks from the Chinese Bohai Sea

Methylsiloxanes are a class of silicone compounds that have been widely used in various industrial processes and personal care products for several decades. This study investigated the spatial distribution of three cyclic methylsiloxanes(D4–D6) and twelve linear methylsiloxanes(L5–L16) in mollusks collected from seven cities along the Bohai Sea. D4–D6(df = 71%–81%) and L8–L16(df = 32%–40%) were frequently detectable in the mollusk samples, while L5–L7 were not found in any mollusk samples. Cyclic methylsiloxanes(D4–D6) were found in mollusks with the mean concentrations of 15.7 ± 12.3 ng/g ww for D4,24.6 ± 15.8 ng/g ww for D5 and 34.0 ± 23.0 ng/g ww for D6. Among the seven sampling cities, the cyclic methylsiloxanes were predominant in mollusks, with the total cyclic methylsiloxanes(sum of D4–D6, ∑ CMS) accounting for 74.2%–80.7% of the total methylsiloxanes. ∑ CMS along the coastline demonstrated a clear gradient, with the highest concentrations in mollusks at the sampling sites located in the western part of the Bohai Sea and the lowest concentrations in mollusks from cities located in the eastern part of the Bohai Sea. The biota-sediment accumulation factors for cyclic methylsiloxanes(D4–D6) and linear methylsiloxanes(L8–L16) were estimated as 0.42 ± 0.06–0.53 ± 0.06 and0.13 ± 0.03–0.19 ± 0.05, respectively.