Georeferenced multimedia environmental fate of volatile methylsiloxanes modeled in the populous Tokyo Bay catchment basin

Abstract We investigated the multimedia fate of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) in the densely populated catchment basin of Tokyo Bay, Japan, by using a georeferenced multimedia model. We estimated the daily per person consumption rate of these compounds in Japan according to literature. Emissions to the atmosphere accounted for almost all of the emissions of these compounds to the environment. The majority of these compounds were predicted to be distributed in the atmosphere (about 60%) and sediment (about 40%). The advective flows in and out of the atmosphere over the Tokyo Bay catchment basin dominated the flows of these compounds. The sewerage systems contributed considerably to the transport and fate of D5 and D6 in water. They transported these compounds from households to discharge outlets of sewage treatment plants (STPs), which in turn accounted for approximately one quarter of the emission of these compounds to rivers and to Tokyo Bay. The wastewater treatment plants also effectively removed these compounds from the wastewater. The overall persistence of D5 and D6 in the catchment basin was estimated to be 3.8–9.5 days. The horizontal distributions of these compounds were similar among environmental compartments; high concentrations were generally observed in populated areas. A sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the D5 discharge rate to Tokyo Bay excluding the direct discharge from STPs and the D5 mass in the river compartment were sensitive to changes of the organic-carbon-water partition coefficient. Comparison with the concentrations in rivers measured recently in the target area showed that the model captured overall trends of low to high concentrations in rivers. However, there was some variability and a bias toward underprediction. The model provided a better fit to measurements for D5 than for D6. One potential factor contributing to the bias toward underprediction was underestimation of the consumption rates.