Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111141 0301-4797/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Research article Modelling the fate and transport of colloidal particles in association with BPA in river water Zakariya Naf’ Shehab , Nor Rohaizah Jamil * , Ahmad Zaharin Aris Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: BPA Colloids Water quality models Aggregation Adsorption Transport ABSTRACT A simplifed modelling approach for illustrating the fate of emerging pollutants can improve risk assessment of these chemicals. Once released into aquatic environments, these pollutants will interact with various substances including suspended particles, colloidal or nano particles, which will greatly infuence their distribution and ultimate fate. Understanding these interactions in aquatic environments continues to be an important issue because of their possible risk. In this study, bisphenol A (BPA) in the water column of Bentong River, Malaysia, was investigated in both its soluble and colloidal phase. A spatially explicit hydrological model was established to illustrate the associated dispersion processes of colloidal-bound BPA. Modelling results demonstrated the signifcance of spatial detail in predicting hot spots or peak concentrations of colloidal-bound BPA in the sedi- ment and water columns as well. The magnitude and setting of such spots were system based and depended mainly on fow conditions. The results highlighted the effects of colloidal particles’ concentration and density on BPA’s removal from the water column. It also demonstrated the tendency of colloidal particles to aggregate and the impact all these processes had on BPA’s transport potential and fate in a river water. All scenarios showed that after 7.5–10 km mark BPA’s concentration started to reach a steady state with very low concentrations which indicated that a downstream transport of colloidal-bound BPA was less likely due to minute BPA levels. 1. Introduction The production and use of plastic material over the years have grown exponentially. In 2018, the global plastic production reached 359 million tonnes per year, with Asia accounting for 51% of this production (PlasticsEurope, 2019). Plastics are extensively used since they are du- rable, lightweight and inexpensive. However, low recovery rates and unsuitable handling of plastic leftover or waste have elevated the damaging and adverse effects of plastics on the environment, particu- larly aquatic ecosystems (Nor and Obbard, 2014). It has been estimated that around 4.8–12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2010 found its way to oceans, this amount is projected to grow ten times as much by 2025 (Jambeck et al., 2015). One of the main ingredients in numerous plastic products is Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is among the most extensively applied synthetic organic substances in the world, surpassing over 6 million tonnes in production annually with Asia being the biggest consumer (Jalal et al., 2018). Originally identifed as a possible synthetic estrogen, this com- pound is currently regarded as a potential endocrine disrupting chemical widely employed in plastic manufacture (Allard, 2014). This plastic monomer and plasticizer is applied in polycarbonate production, metal cans and as an additive in polyvinyl chloride and in many daily plastic products (Collica et al., 2018). This widespread exposure is behind the ever-increasing public health concern ensuing due to its adverse impact. It has been shown that BPA can leach out from water bottles, food containers and other products of regular use. Reports have long stated BPA’s presence in human urine, serum, placental tissue, amniotic fuid, follicular fuid and umbilical cord blood. Furthermore, several studies have shown that animals exposed to BPA have suffered damaging health effects overall including alternations in reproductive systems and sexual behaviour (Collica et al., 2018). Due to its estrogenic activity in specifc responses in vitro and in vivo, and wide availability in the environment, BPA’s adverse effects on human health are becoming quite conceivable. In fact, reports theorized that exposure to xenoestrogens (e.g. BPA) throughout primary devel- opment stages might have been the reason behind the increasing occurrence of breast cancer, genital tract abnormalities and infertility cases observed in world population throughout the previous decades * Corresponding author. E-mail address: norrohaizah@upm.edu.my (N.R. Jamil). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111141 Received 13 May 2020; Received in revised form 29 June 2020; Accepted 26 July 2020