title: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and mercury in fish from lakes of the Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: High mountains may act as cold traps for globally transported persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg). In the present study, 60 fish samples were collected from eight alpine lakes across the Tibetan Plateau. Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), total mercury (HgT) and methyl mercury (MeHg) were quantified in the fish muscle tissues to improve the understanding of pollution status and factors regulating the transport and fate of these contaminants on the Plateau. The results showed that lake-averaged ∑(14)PBDEs concentration was between 0.09 ng g(-1) dw and 4.32 ng g(-1) dw, which was lower than those reported for European mountains. The total mercury concentration in individual fish ranged from 243 to 2384 ng g(-1) dw, and that of MeHg from 131 to 1,610 ng g(-1) dw, which is much higher than those reported in other mountain fish. The spatial variation of PBDEs and mercury in the Plateau is largely controlled by the specific meteorological patterns.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Ruiqiang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chuanyong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yawei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yingming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guibin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000378:metabolism*; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism*; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D018609:Tibet; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury