Atmospheric PBDEs at rural and urban sites in central China from 2010 to 2013: residual levels, potential sources and human exposure.
Atmospheric polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were monitored monthly from 2010 to 2013 at rural and urban sites near a large shallow Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). The urban areas had higher air PBDEs than the rural areas because of endogenic pollution. The highest and lowest concentrations of Σ13BDEs were observed in the winter and in the summer, respectively. A weak temperature dependence and significant positive correlations between certain PBDE congeners and the PM10 (p < 0.01) suggest transport with particulate matter. Using air-mass back-trajectories, we determined that the main sources of the PBDEs were the areas to the north, such as Shandong Province, and to the east, such as Zhejiang Province. PBDEs did not pose an appreciable risk to human health based on the inhalation exposure assessment. The residents in urban areas were exposed to higher levels of PBDEs, and wintertime exposures posed the greatest human health risk.
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Wei
W
He
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Ning
N
Qin
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Qi-Shuang
QS
He
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Xiang-Zhen
XZ
Kong
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Wen-Xiu
WX
Liu
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Qing-Mei
QM
Wang
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Chen
C
Yang
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Yu-Jiao
YJ
Jiang
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Bin
B
Yang
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Ze-Lin
ZL
Bai
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Wen-Jing
WJ
Wu
Ministry of Education, Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: xufl@urban.pku.edu.cn.
Fu-Liu
FL
Xu
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060106:Lakes; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D012424:Rural Population; D012621:Seasons; D014505:Urban Population
D000393:Air Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D052638:Particulate Matter
Atmospheric residue; Inhalation exposure; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Potential sources; Urban–rural variation