The behavior of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) discharged from domestic wastewater into river water, sediment and submerged aquatic vegetation was investigated. The concentrations of DEHP were found to be between 8 - 25 ~g L-Iin river water, 1000 - 2000 ~g kg-I in sediment and less than 20 - 2000 ~g kg-I in submerged aquatic vegetation. The experiments performed in laboratory were on the biodegradation of DEHP in water and sediment, and also adsorption equilibrium of DEHP between water and sediment surface. The results obtained from the investigations made it clear that the high enrichment of DEHP from water to sediment was caused from not only its high adsorptive potential but also slow degradation in sediment. Higher enrichment of an organic pollutant, DEHP, was found in estuary sediment. The experiment in laboratory was performed to examine the effect of seawater and organic matter in sediment. The result showed that salting-ollt effect due to high salinity in seawater and organic matter in sediment contributed towards the increasing of distribution of DEHP between water and sediment. Key words: Behavior, DEHP, domestic waste water, distribution, sediment, salting-out effect, estuanj. Erini Yllwatini Pusat Sarana Pengendalian Dampak Lingkungan-Kemenh'ian Negara Lingkungan Hidup
