title: Current levels and composition profiles of PBDEs and alternative flame retardants in surface sediments from the Pearl River Delta, southern China: comparison with historical data.
abstract: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative flame retardants were measured in surface sediments collected during 2009-2010 from the Pearl River Delta, southern China (a large manufacturing base for electronics/electrical products), to evaluate the influence of China's RoHS directive (adopted in 2006) on their environmental occurrence. The concentrations in sediments from different water systems ranged from 3.67 to 2,520 ng/g (average of 17.1-588 ng/g) for PBDEs and from 0.22 to 5,270 ng/g (average of 11.3-454 ng/g) for the alternative retardants. Although the PBDE levels have decreased significantly compared with those in sediments collected in 2002 in this region, the levels of alternative decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) have exceeded those of BDE209 (two predominant halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) in China) in the majority of sediments. This finding suggests a different contaminant pattern of HFRs in current sediments due to the replacement of the deca-BDE mixture with DBDPE in this region. In addition, sediment concentrations of discontinued PBDEs in the rural area are clearly elevated due to e-waste dismantling. The congener profiles of PBDEs in the current sediments (with more abundant lower-brominated congeners) differed substantially from those in 2002 and from the technical products, suggesting that biological or photolytic debromination of PBDEs may have occurred in the environment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: She-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: An-Hong
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Ming-Jing
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Man-Ying
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Bi-Xian
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Mai
mesh_terms: D001969:Bromobenzenes / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001969:Bromobenzenes; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C491509:decabromodiphenyl ethane