Antimony was measured by hydride generation atomic fluorescence in PET chips, grey fabric, dyed fabric, and process wastewater from seven factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and in the Taipu River near that industry. Residual antimony averaged 207.2 mg/kg in PET, 178.4 mg/kg in grey fabric, and 107.9 mg/kg in dyed fabric, against a surveyed catalyst addition of 300.0 mg/kg. Esterification wastewater contained 3795.8 and 4025.3 μg/L, far above weave, desize, and dye wastewaters in Table 2. In the river, 20 aqueous samples exceeded the 5.0 μg/L surface-water standard the paper cites, and two estuary values were 27.4 and 34.4 μg/L. Main-stream sediments other than those below the cited background were 2.09-8.80 mg/kg, with one sediment at about 14.00 mg/kg. A national material-flow model for 2018 estimates releases in tonnes; those are model outputs, not concentrations.
Key numbers
| Analyte | Matrix | Value | Unit | Statistic | N | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sb | PET, factory A | 206.9 ± 2.4 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | PET, factory B | 207.4 ± 16.7 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric, factory C | 166.5 ± 9.0 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric, factory D | 177.5 ± 7.8 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric, factory E | 199.7 ± 5.3 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric, factory F | 187.4 ± 2.9 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric, factory G | 160.8 ± 7.7 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | dyed fabric, factory E | 109.1 ± 3.3 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | dyed fabric, factory F | 98.7 ± 2.2 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | dyed fabric, factory G | 115.9 ± 3.6 | mg/kg | mean | 3 | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | PET chips, two factories | 207.2 | mg/kg | mean | 2 factories | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
| Sb | grey fabric | 178.4 | mg/kg | mean | Table 1 p.PDF p.4 |
Methods (brief)
Field survey of 79 factories supplied capacity and wastewater volumes used in the flow model (supplementary Table S1). Igeo used a cited Taihu sediment background of 1.67 mg/kg from Wei and Wen 2012; that background was not remeasured here and is not entered as an occurrence result. More than 99% of river-water antimony was described as soluble rather than particle-bound.
Detection and reporting: No LOD or LOQ is stated in the text.
Basis: Total Sb. Solids in mg/kg. Wastewater and river water in μg/L. Sediment in mg/kg. The tonne figures are a 2018 material-flow model, not measured concentrations. Soluble versus particulate is reported; Sb(III) versus Sb(V) is not.
Evidence fitness
This source can support: Total Sb in PET, grey fabric, and dyed fabric from these factories; Total Sb in the listed process wastewaters; Summary Sb in Taipu River water and sediment; The cited GB3838-2002 surface-water value of 5.0 μg/L.
It cannot support: A complete river-sample table; Sb(III) versus Sb(V); Drinking-water concentrations at household taps (the river is described as a source; tap results are not tabulated); A certification limit.
Limitations
No detection limit is printed. Supplementary Tables S5 and S6 hold the individual river samples and were not in this file, so only the prose summaries were entered. The 20-sample count is a count, stored so the exceedance statement is not lost, and is not a concentration. Difference values 92.8, 28.8, and about 100 mg/kg are subtractions, not direct measurements. Tonne releases are MFA results. Factory codes are not brand names.
Related evidence
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