Passive sampler derived air concentrations of PBDEs along an urban-rural transect: spatial and temporal trends.
Passive air samplers consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks housed in chambers were deployed at several sites along a approximately 75 km urban-rural gradient in Toronto and analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Samplers were allowed to integrate gas-phase PBDEs over three consecutive seasons starting in the summer of 2000. PBDEs were fairly uniform along the transect with air concentrations in Toronto (10-30 pgm(-3)) about a factor of two greater than at rural sites. Lowest concentrations were observed during the winter and probably associated with reduced inputs from indoor sources of PBDEs and to a preference for PBDEs to partition to the particle-phase at colder temperatures. The composition of PBDEs in the air samples did not differ across the transect or for the different seasons.
Harner
Tom
T
Science & Technology Branch, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, Canada. tom.harner@ec.gc.ca
Shoeib
Mahiba
M
Diamond
Miriam
M
Ikonomou
Michael
M
Stern
Gary
G
D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards; D000392:Air Movements; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D009864:Ontario; D010647:Phenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D012423:Rural Health; D012621:Seasons; D014504:Urban Health
D000393:Air Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D010647:Phenyl Ethers; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls