Environmental distributions of phthalates in sediments affected by municipal wastewater in the South-eastern Black Sea

Concerning pollutants, such as chemicals used as additives in plastics, are becoming more and more prevalent in the environment. Information on the temporal and spatial distribution of these contaminants is still scarce in the Black Sea, one of the world's unique ecosystems and a closed sea. This study provides the preliminary data on the quantities and distribution of phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in surface sediment samples collected from the coast of the south-eastern Black Sea in Turkiye. Following solid phase extraction, phthalate levels were measured by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) in sediment samples collected during two distinct time periods from 21 stations that covered the locations where pretreated urban wastewater was released. While substantial PAE concentrations were observed in deep sea discharge locations, PAE concentrations were found to be lower at stations away from deep sea discharge and river impact. PAE levels in sediment were found to be between 3.76 and 50.57 ng/g dry weight (dw) in this research, which is lower than the values recorded in a majority of the world. DHP was determined to be the most abundant high molecular weight phthalate, whereas DEP was the most abundant low molecular weight phthalate.