biostudies-literatureRodgers TFMGouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaGouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en Génie du Canada)Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)Environment and Climate Change Canada1175https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9977944biostudies-literatureUnknown14(1)Cities are drivers of the global economy, containing products and industries that emit many chemicals. Here, we use the Multimedia Urban Model (MUM) to estimate atmospheric emissions and fate of organophosphate esters (OPEs) from 19 global mega or major cities, finding that they collectively emitted ~81,000 kg yr^-1 of ∑₁₀OPEs in 2018. Typically, polar "mobile" compounds tend to partition to and be advected by water, while non-polar "bioaccumulative" chemicals do not. Depending on the built environment and climate of the city considered, the same compound behaves like either a mobile or a bioaccumulative chemical. Cities with large impervious surface areas, such as Kolkata, mobilize even bioaccumulative contaminants to aquatic ecosystems. By contrast, cities with large areas of vegetation fix and transform contaminants, reducing loadings to aquatic ecosystems. Our results therefore suggest that urban design choices could support policies aimed at reducing chemical releases to the broader environment without increasing exposure for urban residents.Nature communicationsEmissions and fate of organophosphate esters in outdoor urban environments.PMC9977944Postdoctoral fellowshipRGPIN-2017-06654GCXE22S058Saini AGillies EGiang ADiamond MLRodgers TFMfalseEmissions and fate of organophosphate esters in outdoor urban environments.Cities are drivers of the global economy, containing products and industries that emit many chemicals. Here, we use the Multimedia Urban Model (MUM) to estimate atmospheric emissions and fate of organophosphate esters (OPEs) from 19 global mega or major cities, finding that they collectively emitted ~81,000 kg yr^-1 of ∑₁₀OPEs in 2018. Typically, polar "mobile" compounds tend to partition to and be advected by water, while non-polar "bioaccumulative" chemicals do not. Depending on the built environment and climate of the city considered, the same compound behaves like either a mobile or a bioaccumulative chemical. Cities with large impervious surface areas, such as Kolkata, mobilize even bioaccumulative contaminants to aquatic ecosystems. By contrast, cities with large areas of vegetation fix and transform contaminants, reducing loadings to aquatic ecosystems. Our results therefore suggest that urban design choices could support policies aimed at reducing chemical releases to the broader environment without increasing exposure for urban residents.2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Mar2025-04-04T20:10:16.917Z2025-04-04T20:10:16.917ZS-EPMC99779443685935710.1038/s41467-023-36455-7