―Review―

Assessment of Environmental Toxicities of Linear Alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS) Including LAS Complexes (LAS-C), Alkylphenolpolyethoxylates, and Their Biodegradation Products [in Japanese]

Akiko Utsunomiya

Kanagawa Prefectural Public Health Laboratory, 1-1-1 Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama 241-0815, Japan

Linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS) and alkylphenolpolyethoxylates (APE) are shown to belong to a major group of surfactant as ingredients of detergents and are normally present in raw sewage. Many biodegradation products of these surfactants, such as sulfophenyl-carboxylic acids, nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenoldiethoxylate (NP2EO) etc., and LAS complexes (LAS-C) with cationic surfactants are also present in river water, sediment and/or effluent. Recently, the estrogenic properties of the biodegradation products of APE, NP and NP2EO etc., have a great interest for us. In order to assess the risks of LAS and APE for an aquatic environment, the following are required to be cleared ; (1) exposure concentrations of these compounds, including their biodegradation products and LAS-C, (2) behaviors on their biodegradation, adsorption, and the rate of removal in the wastewater treatment plant, (3) toxic and estrogenic effects on aquatic organisms and eosystem. In this review, the recent trends of studies on LAS, APE and their biodegradation products, and LAS-C are discussed.