Organic Contaminants in the Pearl River Delta, South China: Environmental Behavior and Human Exposure

The Pearl River Delta is one of the most developed but also one of the most polluted regions in China. The severe environmental pollution is undoubtedly going to hinder the sustainable development of regional economy and cause human health risks. A variety of legacy and emerging organic contaminants have been ubiquitously found in various environmental compartments, biota, and human tissues. These include polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphate esters flame retardants (OPEs) and many others. Comprehensive understanding of the environmental behaviors of organic contaminants and their human exposures is essential for policy makers to carry out effective measures to reduce the contaminants. Inter-compartmental transfer, e.g., sediment-water, air-water and soil-water, of organic contaminants are important geochemical processes governing their environmental behavior. This review aims to summarize the current status of sampling techniques for measuring the inter-compartmental exchange flux of hydrophobic organic chemicals, to summarize the current knowledge on the environmental behavior e.g., atmospheric dry and wet deposition, soil inventory, riverine fluxes, of organic contaminants, and human exposure to typical organic contaminants in the Pearl River Delta region. The limitations of current researches and prospects of future studies on environmental behaviors of organic contaminants and their human exposures are also outlined.