Organochlorine compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediment from Baiyangdian Lake,North China:Concentrations,sources profiles and potential risk

Organochlorine pesticides （OCPs）, polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs）, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） were determined in nineteen surface sediment samples collected from Baiyangdian Lake and its inflowing river （Fuhe River） in North China. Total concentrations of OCPs, PCBs and PAHs in sediments ranged from 5.4 to 707.6 ng]g, 2.3 to 197.8 ng/g, and 101.3 to 6360.5 ng]g, respectively. The levels of contaminants in Fuhe River were significantly higher than those in Baiyandian Lake. For hexachlorocyclohexane （HCHs） and dichlorodiphenytrich/oroethanes （DDTs）, α-HCH and p,p＇-DDT were predominant isomers; while for PCBs, PCB 28/31, PCB 40/103, PCB 60, PCB 101, and PCB 118 were predominant congeners. Possible sources derived from historical usage for OCPs and incomplete combustion fuel, wood, and coal and exhaustion of boats or cars for PAHs. Risk assessment of sediment indicated that sediments in Fuhe River were likely to pose potential biological adverse impact.

Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and decabromodiphenylethane in surface sediments from Fuhe River and Baiyangdian Lake,North China

Nineteen surface sediment samples collected from Baiyangdian Lake and its inflowing river （Fuhe River） in North China were analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs） and decabromodiphenylethane （DBDPE）. The concentrations of PBDEs and DBDPE in sediments ranged from 5.5 to 300.7 ng/g dry weight （dw） and 1.1 to 68.2 ng/g dw, respectively. Their levels in sediments in Fuhe River were significantly higher than those in Balyandian Lake. Compared to data from other regions, the PBDE levels in surface sediments from Baiyangdian Lake and Fuhe River were in the medium to lower range. Among the PBDE congeners, BDE209 was predominant, with contributions to the total PBDEs ranging from 79.4% to 97.3% in sediment samples. For the lowly brominated congeners （tri- to hepta-BDE）, BDE47 and BDE99 were the most abundant, which contributed 52.1% and 44.1% to the sum of tri- to hepta-BDEs in the sediments from Baiyangdian Lake and Fuhe River, respectively. The compositional patterns of PBDEs in Baiyangdian Lake sediments indicated that technical deca-BDE mixture was the major pollutant sources with a minor contribution of penta-BDE mixture. The present study suggested that the importance of Fuhe River as a possibly potential sources of PBDEs contamination in Baiyangdian Lake.

A review of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and alternative brominated flame retardants in wildlife from China:Levels,trends,and bioaccumulation characteristics

Accelerated industrialization and urbanization,and unregulated disposal of waste of electric and electronic equipment（e-waste） in China have caused environmental pollution of brominated flame retardants（BFRs）.This review summarized the levels,trends,and bioaccumulation characteristics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers（PBDEs） and other potential alternative BFRs including hexabromocyclododecanes（HBCDs）,1,2-bis（2,4,6-dibromophenoxy） ethane（BTBPE） and decabromodiphenylethane（DBDPE） in wildlife from China.PBDE levels in wildlife from China were generally higher than those from other parts in Asia,and were comparable to those from Europe but were lower than those from North America.However,wildlife from the e-waste recycling sites in South China and East China contained much higher PBDEs compared to other reports around the world,suggesting the heavy contamination of PBDEs in these regions.The alternative BFRs were also detected in wildlife,revealing that the animals are exposed to these chemicals,in addition to PBDEs.Temporal trends indicated by levels in marine mammals from South China suggested that PBDE levels increased from the beginning of 1990s to 2000s,but decreased from the middle of 2000s,followed by relatively steady levels.In contrast,HBCDs were found to be continuously increasing from 1997 to 2007,indicating the increasing usage of HBCDs in China in recent years.Compared to PBDE profiles found in other parts,aquatic species and birds from China contained relatively higher contributions of BDE28 and 209,respectively,suggesting the possible different usage pattern of PBDEs.Future works including keeping monitoring at a reasonable scale and frequency to make sure levels near urban centers indicative of population do not increase are needed.Additionally,focus effort on e-waste recycling regions to look for impacts and to determine if regulation/controls are resulting in lower environmental contamination,and incorporation of sentinel species in monitoring efforts are recommended.

The leaching of additive-derived flame retardants(FRs) from plastics in avian digestive fluids:The significant risk of highly lipophilic FRs

The exposure to plastic debris and associated pollutants for wildlife is of urgent concern,but little attention has been paid on the transfer of plastic additives from plastic debris to organisms.In the present study,the leaching of incorporated flame retardants (FRs),including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs),alternative brominated FRs (AFRs),and phosphate flame retardants (PFRs),from different sizes of recycled acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer were investigated in avian digestive fluids.The impact of co-ingested sediment on the leaching of additive-derived FRs in digestive fluids was also explored.In the recycled ABS,BDE 209 (715 μg/g) and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE,1766 μg/g) had the highest concentrations among all target FRs.The leaching proportions of FRs were higher in finer sizes of ABS.The leaching proportions of FRs from recycled ABS increased with elevated logKow of FRs.In the tests with coexisted ABS and sediment,hexato deca-BDEs,BTBPE,and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) migrated from ABS to sediment,which resulted in the less bioaccessible fractions of these FRs in gut fluids.More lipophilic chemicals tended to be adsorbed by sediment from ABS.The results suggest the migration of additive-derived FRs from plastics to other indigestible materials in digestive fluids.The findings in this study provide insights into the transfer of additive-derived FRs from plastics to birds,and indicate the significant contribution of FR-incorporated plastics to bioaccumulation of highly lipophilic FRs.

Full-scale evaluation of reversed A^(2)/O process for removal of multiple pollutants in sewage

This study evaluated the removal of multiple pollutants,i.e.,polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),novel halogenated flame retardants(HFRs),sulfonamide antibiotics(SAs),and heavy metals(HMs),by a fullscale reversed A^(2)/O process in a sewage treatment plant(STP)in Guangzhou,China.The reversed A^(2)/O process demonstrated high removal efficiencies(REs)for total PBDEs(60.5%±4.3%),novel HFRs(98.4%±2.8%)and HMs(70.1%±1.2%),and a relatively low RE for SAs(25.0%±2.3%).BDE 209,the dominant PBDE congener,showed a high residual concentration(13.41±5.18 ng/L)in the suspended particulate matter(SPM)of treated effluents.So me novel HFRs,dechlorane plus(DP)and decabromodiphe nyl ethane(DBDPE),were detected in the SPM of the raw sewage(7.50±4.14 ng/L and 11.52±11.65 ng/L,respectively).The removal ofSAs was mainly through biodegradation in the activated sludge bioreactors(ASBs).Ofthe HMs,Mn and Ni exhibited the lowest REs(47.5%±2.2%and 35.0%±2.6%,respectively),while Cr and Cu showed the highest removal(REs>80%).In terms of treatment units in the reversed A^(2)/O process,ASBs showed the highest RE(27.8%)for the multiple pollutants.The information can aid in our understanding of removal properties of STPs on various pollutants and evaluating the ecological/health risks of STPs as point pollutant sources.