Detection and Health Risk Assessment of Volatile Organic Compounds in Surface Water of Jinshan District of Shanghai

Objective To quantify the health risk level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in surface water of Jinshan District of Shanghai,thus provide a basis for water environment management.

Methods VOCs in 15 main rivers of Jinshan District were determined with gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS).Water environment health risk was evaluated using the carcinogens and non-carcinogens assessment models recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

Results A total of 12 kinds of VOCs were detected in the 18 sampling points.Of them,butanone had the highest detection rate of 100%;while 1,4-dichlorobenzene,acetone,and carbon disulfide had the lowest detection rate of 5.56%,with the maximum concentration of 96.9 μg/L for acetone and the minimum concentration of 0.09 μg/L for dimethylbenzene.For non-carcinogenic risk,all the 18 sampling points showed risk levels less than 1,with the highest level found at sampling point 9 reaching 0.267.The non-carcinogenic risk of sampling point 9 was mainly composed of dichloromethane water drinking (accounted for 81.7% of the total risk).For the carcinogenic risk,all the 18 sampling points showed risk levels far less than 10-4,and there were 9 sampling sites with risk levels ranging from 10-6-10-4.The carcinogenic risk mainly consisted of dichloromethane,trichloroethylene,benzene,1,2-dichloroethane,and 1,4-dichlorobenzene.

Conclusion The overall non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of the surface water in Jinshan are lower than the recommended limits of the US EPA,indicating relatively low health risks and safe surface water environment.