title: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in English freshwater lakes, 2008-2012.
abstract: Concentrations of tri-to-hexa-BDEs were determined in water samples taken from 9 English lakes on 13 occasions between April 2008 and February 2012. Across all sites, concentrations of ΣBDEs in individual samples ranged from 9.2 to 171.5pgL(-)(1), with an average of 61.9pgL(-)(1). Notwithstanding the far greater use of the Penta-BDE commercial formulation in the USA, concentrations in this study are comparable to the limited data available for the Great Lakes. PBDE concentrations showed no evidence of a decline at any monitored location over the study period. This may be because this study commenced 4years after the introduction of restrictions on the Penta- and Octa-BDE formulations. While concentrations normalised to water volume at the different locations were statistically indistinguishable; significant spatial variation was apparent when the data were normalised to total suspended solids (TSS) content. However, this spatial variation was not correlated with factors such as population density and lake catchment area, suggesting that concentrations of PBDEs in lake water in this study are a complex integral of numerous factors. BDE-47:99 ratios and concentrations of ΣBDEs respectively decreased and increased significantly with increasing TSS content. As TSS content was elevated in colder compared with warmer periods, such seasonal variation in TSS content appears a major contributor to the observed elevation of ΣBDE concentrations in colder periods, and higher BDE-47:99 ratios in warmer periods.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. Electronic address: CXY083@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Congqiao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harrad
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed Abou-Elwafa
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desborough
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Neil L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.affiliation: Environmental Change Research Centre, Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
mesh_terms: D004739:England; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D060106:Lakes / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C511295:2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether
keywords: Lake water; PBDEs; Seasonal; Spatial; TSS; Temporal