title: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and dechlorane plus (DP) in a conventional wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Shanghai: seasonal variations and potential sources.
abstract: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered an important medium for the transport and transformation of organic pollutants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and dechlorane plus (DP). However, limited data on PBDEs and no data on DP were available regarding wastewater and sludge from China, especially in Shanghai, one of the most developed cities in China. This study examined the occurrence of PBDEs and DP in a conventional WWTP in Shanghai for one year. The levels of the total PBDEs in the influent and dewatered sludge ranged from 5.31 to 27.9 ng/L and 31.0 to 99.5 ng/g, respectively, which were at the low end of the global range. DP was reported in wastewater with a mean concentration of 0.46 ng/L (range: 0.05 to 1.40 ng/L) and sludge contained DP in the range of 1.1 to 2.0 ng/g. For both PBDEs and DP, there were no significant seasonal variations observed in the four seasons. Indoor dust and outdoor air could be two main sources of PBDEs and DP in the WWTP. In both the influent and sewage sludge, BDE-209 was the most abundant congener, with contributions to the total PBDE levels ranging from 52.9 to 82.6% and 82.7 to 84.0%, respectively. The fraction of anti-DP was consistently higher than that of syn-DP, and the average of fsyn ranged from 0.16 to 0.33, which fell in the range of two commercial DP mixtures. The annual releases of PBDEs and DP via sewage sludge from WWTPs in Shanghai were estimated to be 6,370 g and 164.8 g, respectively. The fate and risk of these compounds after being released into the environment require further research. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the occurrence of DP in wastewater.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: xzmeng@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiang-Zhou
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C526360:dechlorane plus
keywords: Dechlorane plus; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Seasonal variation; Shanghai; Sludge; Wastewater