“…A certain fraction of HFRs can escape from consumer products during production, use, disposal, and recycling as most HFRs are not chemically bound to consumer products. Volatilization, abrasion, and weathering are the major mechanisms of HFRs migration from consumer products to the environment, which can be accelerated by fragmentation or biological and chemical transformation. − HFRs have been detected in remote regions, such as the arctic and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, ,, where anthropogenic activities are rare, indicating long-distance transport of HFRs by natural processes (e.g., by snow, rain, adhesion to aerosolized particulates, and oceanic transport). − Extensively used HFRs have also been widely detected in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) around the world. − HFRs can enter the wastewater treatment stream via disposal of cleaning fluids by manufacturing facilities, disposal of consumer products, landfill leachate, and precipitation. ,− Conventional WWTPs are not designed to remove HFRs and only minor to moderate fractions (<80%) of the HFRs entering WWTPs are biotransformed during treatment, with most being adsorbed to the wastewater treatment solids and the remainder being discharged with the effluent. , Over 300 billion tons of municipal wastewater was discharged in 2010 worldwide, much of which is introduced into soils or terrestrial and marine waters. Hence, WWTPs represent an important source of environmental HFRs contamination and the contribution of WWTPs to HFRs deposition is an issue of growing concern. ,,,− …”