Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer of Organophosphate Esters (OPEs) in Arctic Terrestrial and Benthic Marine Ecosystems

The increasing prevalence of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in remote polar ecosystems has raised significant concerns; yet the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer dynamics of these compounds in polar regions remain poorly understood. This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of OPEs in soil, vegetation, marine sediment, and biota from Svalbard, Arctic. Σ10OPEs ranged from 1.12 to 236 ng/g dry weight (dw) and 1.96 to 255 ng/g dw in the Arctic terrestrial and benthic marine matrices, respectively. Triethyl phosphate (TEP), tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCIPP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), and tri-(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) were the dominant congeners across all samples. OPEs exhibited bioaccumulation within the soil-vegetation system of the terrestrial environment, while significant trophic dilution occurred in the benthic marine food web. Interestingly, parabolic correlations were observed between log octanol–water partition coefficients (log KOW) and log-transformed bioconcentration factors (BCFs) in the terrestrial environment, as well as between log KOW and trophic magnification factors (TMFs) in the benthic marine food web, suggesting that congeners with moderate lipophilicity exhibit the highest potential for bioaccumulation. This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of OPEs in the Arctic ecosystem, providing critical insights into the environmental behaviors of OPEs in polar regions.