Levels and Potential Sources of Decabromodiphenyl Ethane (DBDPE) and Decabromodiphenyl Ether (DecaBDE) in Lake and Marine Sediments in Sweden

Abstract

Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) is a brominated flame retardant (BFR) used as a replacement for the structurally similar decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), which is a regulated environmental contaminant of concern. DBDPE has been found in indoor dust, sewage sludge, sediment, and biota, but little is known about its occurrence and distribution in the environment In this paper, sediment was analyzed from 11 isolated Swedish lakes and along a transect running from central Stockholm through the Stockholm archipelago to the Baltic Sea. DBDPE was present in all samples. In lake sediment, the levels ranged from 0.23 to 11 ng/g d.wt. and were very similar to the levels of decaBDE (0.48-11 ng/g d.wt.). Since the lakes have no known point sources of BFRs, their presence in the sediments provides evidence for long-range atmospheric transport and deposition. In the marine sediment, the DBDPE and decaBDE levels decreased by a factor of 20-50 over 40 km from the inner harbor to the outer archipelago. There the DBDPE and decaBDE levels were similar to the levels in nearby isolated lakes. The results indicate that contamination of the Swedish environment with DBDPE has already approached that of decaBDE, and that this contamination is primarily occurring via the atmosphere.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative brominated flame retardants (aBFRs) in sediments from four bays of the Yellow Sea, North China

“…High levels of BDE 209 were frequently detected around BFR manufacturing areas, more urbanized cities, and regions with more electrical factories. Compared to coastal sediments in other countries, the ranges of BDE 209 in the four bays of this study (n.d. e 10.2 ng g À1 dw) were lower than those in Tokyo Bay (0.89e18 ng g À1 dw) (Minh et al, 2007) and the Stockholm coast in Sweden (n.d. e 88 ng g À1 dw) (Ricklund et al, 2010). In addition, Goseong Bay, which is located in a rural area of Korea, showed similar BDE 209 concentrations to the ones found in the study region of this work (Lee et al, 2014b).…”

“…In comparison, DBDPE concentrations (1.13 ng g À1 dw at site H1, 37.2 ng g À1 dw at site H2, and 49.9 ng g À1 dw at site H3) in the three river sediment samples were one to two orders of magnitude lower than those in the Dongjiang River (n.d. e 1728 ng g À1 dw) , which runs across the major electronic/electrical manufacturing base of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) . The DBDPE concentrations (0.16e39.7 ng g À1 dw) in all coastal sediments in this study were similar to those in the Pearl River estuary (PRE) (n.d. e 30.5 ng g À1 dw) and Ebro and Llobregat River basins (n.d e 31.5 ng g À1 dw) (Baron et al, 2014), but higher than those in marine sediments, such as those from the Yangtze River Delta (0.18e1.57 ng g À1 dw) , Stockholm coast in Sweden (n.d. e 11 ng g À1 dw) (Ricklund et al, 2010), three bays in South America (n.d. e 2.26 ng g À1 dw) (Baron et al, 2013), and the western Arctic Ocean (n.d. e 0.45 ng g À1 dw) (Cai et al, 2012). The DBDPE concentrations in marine sediments of northern China were at a moderate level, comparatively.…”

Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and decabromodiphenylethane in surface sediments from the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Canada Basin

“…This implied that DBDPE was widespread in the sediments of the western Arctic, was although it was at lower levels than the only other data presently available for high latitudes, that is, the marine sediments off Sweden (0.18-11 ng/g) (Ricklund et al, 2010). Compared to lower latitude areas, this value was also much lower than the values found in the Pearl River Delta (38.3-364 ng/g) (Shi et al, 2009) and the Western Scheldt area in the Netherlands (24 ng/g) (Kierkegaard et al, 2004).…”

“…Its structure is similar to that of BDE-209, which may lead to similar environmental behavior. As a result, alternative BFRs are now ubiquitous in sediments, sludge, wastewater, and biotic samples (Ricklund et al, 2010). The distributions of PBDEs and DBDPE are controlled by various factors, including source contributions, carriers during transport, and the partition between particulate and dissolved phases.…”

Towards a generic procedure for the detection of relevant contaminants from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) in plastic food-contact materials: a review and selection of key parameters

“…Due to higher migration rates and the aim to increase the material's fire resistance in the environment, FRs are either incorporated as additives (moulded blend), additive polymeric BFR or reactive components, e.g., tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) with bisphenol A for PC production. Since 1990 a substitute for technical decabromodiphenylether (decaBDE, based on a majority of decaBDE-209 congener), decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) was introduced (US Patent 5077334, 1991) which when implemented over a certain time came to be found in sediments (Kierkegaard et al 2004;Ricklund et al 2010), household dust (Stapleton et al 2008a) and air (Egebäck et al 2012). Because the long service time of several electric household products, large amounts of older BFRs will still appear in the environment (Vyzinkarova & Brunner 2013 The sorting efficiency of such a waste stream can be achieved in controlled closed-product loops like the PET bottles cycle.…”