Occurrence of Bisphenol A in Bolgoda Lake Receiving Leachate from a Solid Waste Open Dump: A Silent Killer of a Healthy Ecosystem

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is abundantly used as a primary raw material in producing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Because of its widespread use, it is one of the most ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic environment resulting in adverse impacts on the quality of aquatic life. We investigated the presence of BPA in the surface water collected from the Bolgoda lake during the dry and wet periods. The average concentrations of BPA detected in the samples with receipt of BPA from the Karadiyana solid waste open dump were in the range of 3.3–29.2 and 1.0–1.2 µg/L in the wet and dry periods, respectively. The concentrations of BPA detected in the Bolgoda lake in the wet season were significantly different from that of the upstream sample with no receipt of BPA from the open dump (p < 0.05), suggesting substantial evidence of migration of BPA from the dumpsite. Moreover, BPA levels of the same locations in the dry season were not significantly different (p > 0.05), indicating no signs of leachate rich in BPA being mixed with the Bolgoda lake. The correlation results indicated that both pH and temperature follow a negative relationship with BPA. Our acute ecological risk assessment findings indicated high acute risk in the wet period and medium acute risk in the dry period for Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).