Unveiling pollution of benzophenone and triazine-derived ultraviolet filters in fishing-port sediment: Implications for ecological risk management

Benzophenone-derived ultraviolet filters (BP-UVFs) and triazine-derived UVFs (TA-UVFs) have garnered important attention in recent years due to their environmental persistence, potential for bioaccumulation, and associated toxicity. However, there is limited understanding of their co-occurrence and ecological risks in fishing port sediments. In this study, ten BP-UVFs and nine TA-UVFs were investigated in 24 fishing port sediments from Northern China (Dalian area). BP-UVFs were found in significantly higher concentrations than those of TA-UVFs. The total concentrations in sediments of nineteen UVFs (Σ19UVFs) ranged from 7.00 to 42.29 ng/g (dry weight). Notably, higher Σ19UVFs were observed in first-, second-class and central fishing ports compared to the natural fishing port. The contamination levels of BP-UVFs and TA-UVFs did not increase with the scale of fishing-ports, suggesting that contamination was not clearly associated with the grade or scale of fishing-ports, and was influenced by site-specific geographical and environmental characteristics. Additionally, semi-enclosed fishing ports were found to be particularly susceptible to higher accumulation of BP-UVFs and TA-UVFs in sediments, with mass inventories ranging from 25.56 to 154.36 ng/cm2. Benzophenone (BP), benzophenone-7 (BP-7), and bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (UV-627) were identified as ecological risk compounds. This study highlights the ubiquitous presence and ecological risk posed by BP-UVFs and TA-UVFs in fishing-port sediments, underscoring the importance of fishing port location over fishing activities as a factor in their distribution and implications.