Temporal trends of legacy and novel brominated flame retardants in sediments along the Rhône River corridor in France

Abstract

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are anthropogenic compounds that are ubiquitous in most 6 manufactured goods. Few legacy BFRs have been recognised as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) 7 and have been prohibited since the 2000s. However, most BFRs continue to be used despite growing 8 concerns regarding their toxicity; they are often referred to as novel BFRs (nBFRs). While 9 environmental contamination due to chlorinated POPs has been extensively investigated, the levels and spatiotemporal trends of BFRs are comparatively understudied. This study aims to reconstruct the temporal trends of both legacy and novel BFRs at the scale of a river corridor. To this end, sediment cores were sampled from backwater areas in four reaches along the Rhône River. Age-depth models were established for each of them. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), legacy BFRs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers -PBDEs, polybrominated biphenyls -PBBs and hexabromocyclododecane -HBCDDs) and seven nBFRs were quantified. Starting from the 1970s, a decreasing contamination trend was observed for PCBs. Temporal trends for legacy BFRs revealed that they reached peak concentrations from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, and stable concentrations by the mid-2010s. Additionally, individual concentrations of nBFRs were two to four orders of magnitude lower than those of legacy BFRs. Their temporal trends revealed that they appeared in the environment in the 1970s and 1980s. The concentrations of most of these nBFRs have not decreased in recent years. Thus, there is a need to comprehend the sources, contamination load, repartition in the environment, and toxicity of nBFRs before their concentrations reach hazardous levels.

Update of the risk assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in food

“…Concentrations of BDE-209 in biosolids rose from 1995 to 2008, with concentrations doubling approximately every 5 years, which provided an indication of the size of the environmental reservoir of BDE-209 (Covaci & Malarvannan, 2016). Concentrations of legacy BFRs including PBDEs along the river Rhone achieved peak concentrations from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, but have stabilised since the mid-2010s (Vauclin et al, 2021). Karakas et al (2020) reported that the greatest impact on the reduction of total PBDE concentrations in sediment taken from close to San Francisco, was achieved by a reduction in water column concentrations, i.e.…”

“…Concentrations of BDE‐209 in biosolids rose from 1995 to 2008, with concentrations doubling approximately every 5 years, which provided an indication of the size of the environmental reservoir of BDE‐209 (Covaci & Malarvannan, 2016 ). Concentrations of legacy BFRs including PBDEs along the river Rhone achieved peak concentrations from the mid‐1970s to the mid‐2000s, but have stabilised since the mid‐2010s (Vauclin et al., 2021 ).…”

Increasing Trends of Legacy and Emerging Organic Contaminants in a Dated Sediment Core From East-Africa

“…According to sediment core data from Western Europe, the environmental levels of PBDEs levelled off or decreased from the late 1990s and early 2000s (Bogdal et al, 2008;Vauclin et al, 2021). On the other hand, some studies from other industrialized countries conducted in the early 2000s and 2010s, documented increasing sediment concentrations of PBDEs (Table 2).…”

Sampling efficiency of a polyurethane foam air sampler: Effect of temperature

“…Considering their volatility, POPs (including PAHs) belong to a group of semi-volatile organic compounds (SOCs). Once discharged into the environment, SOCs can be dynamically distributed between the gas phase, particulate phase, and other surface media, then eventually distributed among the atmosphere [ 2 ], water [ 3 ], soil [ 4 ], sediment [ 5 ], and biota [ 6 ]. Compared with other SOCs, the relatively longer atmospheric half-lives help POPs migrate with airflow diffusion [ 7 ] over long distances to condense in remote regions.…”