Concentrations and sources of Dechlorane Plus in sewage sludge.
Sewage sludge from 31 urban Spanish wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) was analyzed for the emerging halogenated flame retardant Dechlorane Plus (DP). Concentrations of the two major isomers in the technical mixture, syn and anti, ranged between 0.903-19.2 and 1.55-75.1ngg(-1) dry weight, respectively. Overall, concentrations of DP were lower than those of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (9.10-995ngg(-1) dry weight) and this is likely related to the higher usage of brominated flame retardants. The average ratio of the syn isomer to total DP (f(syn)) was 0.28±0.05, which is similar to that of the commercial mixture. Comparing different wastewater treatment methods, we found lower concentrations in those using biological nitrogen and phosphorous elimination, suggesting that DP is susceptible to microbial degradation and that anti-DP is more so, given the enrichment of syn-DP in the sewage sludge. Principal components analysis revealed significant positive correlation (r=0.619, p<0.05) between total DP concentrations with the contribution of industrial input to waste streams. This implies release of DP is related to industrial activity, likely stemming from the use of the technical product during manufacture of consumer goods. However, use and disposal of products containing DP could not be dismissed. According to our knowledge, this is the first report on DP in WWTP sludge.
Persistent Organic Pollutants Group, Environment Department, CIEMAT, Avd. Complutense 22, Madrid 28040, Spain. adrian.delatorre@ciemat.es
Adrián
A
de la Torre
Ed
E
Sverko
Mehran
M
Alaee
María Ángeles
MÁ
Martínez
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
D005411:Flame Retardants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C526360:dechlorane plus