Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and HBCD in sediments of the Hunhe River in Northeast China

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2015-11, Vol.22 (21), p.16781-16790
• Main Authors: Su, Jiao, Lu, Yingzhuan, Liu, Zhiyang, Gao, Shutao, Zeng, Xiangying, Yu, Zhiqiang, Sheng, Guoying, Fu, Jia-mo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Chemicals; China; Congeners; Contaminated sediments; Contamination; Dry weight; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electrical equipment; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Ethers; Flame retardants; Freshwater; Geochemistry; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - analysis; Heavy metals; Hydrocarbons, Brominated - analysis; Hydrocarbons, Brominated - chemistry; Industrial effluents; Industrial wastes; Industrial wastewater; Investigations; Isomerism; Isomers; Laboratories; Metallurgy; Municipal solid waste; Municipal wastes; Municipal wastewater; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Relative abundance; Research Article; Reservoirs; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Sediment samplers; Sediments; Sewage; Studies; Textiles; Thyroid gland; Toxicology; Upstream; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution Control; Weight
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4779-x

Forty surface sediment samples from the Hunhe River in Northeast China were evaluated for contamination by polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). The results showed that decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) was the predominant congener, accounting for >98 % of PBDEs in all sediment. The concentrations of BDE-209 and HBCD ranged from 3.96 to 327 ng/g dry weight and 0.05 to 25.8 ng/g dry weight, respectively, suggesting that BDE-209 was more widely applied in the study area. The mean concentrations of BDE-209 and HBCD in the downstream portion of the Hunhe River (BDE-209 148 ng/g dry weight and HBCD 3.74 ng/g dry weight) were found to be relatively higher than those in the upstream portion of the Hunhe River and the Dahuofang Reservoir, revealing an association with municipal sewage and industrial effluent received from the cities of Fushun and Shenyang. γ-HBCD was the most abundant diastereoisomer of all three analyzed HBCD isomers; however, marked elevations of α-HBCD were also found in most sediment samples. Surprisingly, the relative abundance (mean 38 %) of α-HBCD in sediment from the upstream portion of the Hunhe River was significantly higher ( p