Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments of the coastal East China Sea: Occurrence, distribution and mass inventory

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Environmental Pollution, Volume 171, December 2012, Pages 155–161

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments of the coastal East China Sea: Occurrence, distribution and mass inventory

^a Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Handan Road 220, Shanghai 200433, China
^b Key Laboratory of Marine Hydrocarbon Resources and Environmental Geology, Ministry of Land and Resources of China, Qingdao 266071, China
^c State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China
^d Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China
^e Key Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China
^f State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.07.039, How to Cite or Link Using DOI

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) of sixty-three sediment samples from the coastal East China Sea (ECS), extending 1000 km from the Yangtze River Estuary to the south, were measured. The levels of BDE-209 and ∑PBDE₇ (sum of BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183) were 0.3–44.6 ng/g (dry weight) and nd-8.0 ng/g, respectively. BDE-209 was the predominant congener, followed by BDE-99/100. This was consistent with the historical and current usage of PBDE mixtures in China. The compositions and distribution of PBDEs suggest that the PBDEs in this area could be mainly from the coastal electronic waste dismantling/recycling and Yangtze River input. The poor correlations between TOC, grain size of sediments with PBDEs imply that the PBDE distribution is more related to their land-based inputs rather than the sediment characters in the area. The coastal ECS is an important sink of PBDEs (7.5 t/yr) in the world.

Highlights

? First report on the levels, distribution and inventory of PBDEs in the inner shelf of the ECS. ? PBDEs were mainly from the coastal electronic waste dismantling/recycling and Yangtze River. ? PBDE distribution was related to the land-based inputs rather than the sediment characters. ? The coastal East China Sea is an important sink of the PBDEs in the world.

Keywords

PBDEs;
Distribution;
Sources;
Deposition flux;
The coastal East China Sea

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749112003673