Preliminary studies on the occurrence of nonylphenol in the marine environments, Chennai—a case study

Abstract Background Resisting degradation, nonylphenol (NP) remains as a critical compound contaminating many habitats. Prevalence of nonylphenol in the ecosystem of Indian coastlines is not well documented as that of fresh water. Hence, the present study was intended to estimate the concentration of nonylphenol from water and sediments samples of Chennai (Madras) coastline which is polluted with anthropogenic activities from the city. Results Six stations were sampled such as Ennore mouth, Ennore creek, Kasimedu, Marina, Besant Nagar, and Muttukaadu which covered approx. 50 km of south-east coastline. Nonylphenol was extracted from water and sediment samples by liquid and solid phase extraction respectively and quantified using gas chromatogram coupled mass spectrum (GC-MS). All the sites were contaminated with nonylphenol (NP) of which at Ennore mouth, concentrations were above the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) prescribed environmental safety limit of 1.7 μg/l. Nonylphenol concentrations varied, and higher levels were observed in sediment samples compared to water. Occurrence of NP ranged from 1.22 to 7.24 μg/l in water and 3.31 to 30.96 μg/kg in sediments. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of NP in the marine environments of Chennai (Madras). This study alarms increase in the concentration of nonylphenol in the marine environments of Chennai coast as the measured values are several magnitudes higher than the environmental safety limit proposed by the US EPA