Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in a Large, Highly Polluted Freshwater Lake, China: Occurrence, Fate, and Risk Assessment.

Jianchao Liu,Zhenhua Yan,Matthew Nkoom,Donghai Wu,Fuhai Zhang,Guanghua Lu

doi:10.3390/ijerph15071529

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were extensively investigated in water, sediment, and biota samples collected from Chaohu Lake basin in China. The total concentrations of eight PBDEs (Σ8PBDEs) were in the ranges of 0.11–4.48 ng/L, 0.06–5.41 ng/g, and 0.02–1.50 ng/g dry weight (dw) in the water, sediment, and biota samples, respectively. The concentrations showed wide variations in the monitoring area, while the congener profiles in all the water, sediment, and biota samples were generally characterized by only a few compounds, such as BDE-47, BDE-99, and/or BDE-209. The spatial analysis depicted a decreasing trend of PBDEs from west to east Chaohu Lake, consistent with regional industrialization degree. The distributions of PBDE congeners in the biota samples were similar to the compositional profiles in the water, which were dominated by BDE-47 and/or BDE-99. Nevertheless, BDE-47 and BDE-153 in the brain tissue showed a higher accumulative potential than PBDEs in other tissues as well as the whole body, with 96% relative contribution of Σ8PBDEs. The noncarcinogenic risk values estimated for BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-153 indicated that the specific risk associated with the studied water and foodstuffs is limited. However, there is a potential mixture ecotoxicity at three trophic levels at some sampling points in the water, which should draw considerable attention.

Highlights

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as a type of brominated flame retardant have been a major contaminant in aquatic ecosystems [1], and are constituents of three commercial mixtures: pentabromodiphenyl ether, octabromodiphenyl ether, and decabromodiphenyl ether [2]
BDE-154, BDE-183, and BDE-209 were congeners in the surface water of Chaohu Lake, with concentrations of 0.10–0.54 and 0.16–0.48 ng/L, below the Method detection limits (MDLs) in all the sampling sites. These results indicate that the inflowing rivers are primary sources of PBDEs in Chaohu Lake and the PBDE contents may decrease because of the lake water dilution
The present research work has provided valuable information on the PBDE contamination level in water, surface sediments, and biota samples collected from the Chaohu Lake basin, China, with average concentrations of 0.11–4.48 ng/L, 0.06–5.41 ng/g, and 0.02–1.50 ng/g, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as a type of brominated flame retardant have been a major contaminant in aquatic ecosystems [1], and are constituents of three commercial mixtures: pentabromodiphenyl ether (penta-BDE), octabromodiphenyl ether (octa-BDE), and decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE) [2]. Because of their ubiquitous presence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity, penta- and octa-BDE mixtures have been restricted in some regions of the world, such as the European Union and parts of the United States [3]. Public Health 2018, 15, 1529; doi:10.3390/ijerph15071529 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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