Occurrence of primary aromatic amines and nicotine in sediments collected from the United States.

ABSTRACT

Despite extensive use of primary aromatic amines (AAs) in consumer products, little is known about their occurrence in the environment. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of 14 AAs and nicotine in 75 sediment samples collected from seven estuarine and freshwater ecosystems in the Unites States. Additionally, risk quotients (RQs) were calculated to assess potential risks of these chemicals to aquatic organisms. Of the 14 AAs analyzed, seven of them were found in sediments. The sum concentrations of seven AAs in sediments were in the range of 10.2 to 1810 ng/g, dry wt (mean 388 ng/g). Aniline was the most abundant compound, accounting for, on average, 53 % of the total concentrations. Nicotine was found in sediments at a concentration range of nicotine concentrations were the highest in sediment from Altavista wastewater lagoon in Virginia (AV, mean 1700 ng/g) followed in descending order by Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC, mean 807 ng/g), Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC, mean 698 ng/g) and New Bedford Harbor (NBH, mean 482 ng/g). Sediments from the upper Mississippi River (MISS, mean 63.4 ng/g) and Tittabawassee River (TBR, mean 52.3 ng/g) contained the lowest concentrations. The RQ values for AAs in sediment ranged from 0 to 733 and that for nicotine ranged from 0 to 2060. Among AAs, the highest RQ value was found for 4-chloroaniline. Nicotine exhibited notable RQ values, which suggested risk from this chemical to aquatic organisms. This is the first study to report the occurrence of AAs in sediments and our results suggest the need for further investigations on the sources and ecological impacts of these chemicals in aquatic ecosystems.