Occurrence and Treatment Effect Assessment of Organophosphorus Flame Retardants in Source and Drinking Water, Jinan, China.

The occurrence and removal efficiencies of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) by traditional treatment processes (pre-flocculation, sand filtration, and post-chlorination processes) and advanced treatment processes (i.e., ozone and granular activated carbon (GAC), ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide (UV/H2O2), GAC alone, ultrafiltration membrane, nanofiltration membrane) were examined in two municipal plants and a pilot plant in Jinan, China. The concentrations of six OPFRs in raw waters were at levels of 16.8–100.0 ng/L, and three OPFRs were below the detection limits. The traditional treatment processes could not effectively remove the OPFRs (the removal efficiency was − 12.0–15.4