Presence of halogenated flame retardants in marine biota and sedimentsamples from the UK
Sara Losada, Robin Law, Thomas Maes, Philippe Bersuder, Jonathan Barber
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft, NR33 0HT, UK
Several studies have shown the widespread distribution, persistence and bioaccumulation capacity of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in the marine environment [1]. These results have led to increasing regulation and restrictions on the production and use of these compounds, and also to their substitution with other non-PBDE BFRs. The number of such chemicals is so large, that an effort has been made to unify their abbreviations to avoid confusion [2]. Some of the most commonly found of those chemicals are the 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTBB or EH-TBB), bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-phthalate (TBPH or BEH-TEBP), hexachloro-cyclopentadienyl dibromocyclooctane (HCDBCO or DBHCTD), pentabromotoluene (PBT), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) and hexabromobenzene (HBB) and Dechlorane Plus (DPs or DDC-CO). Although there is little information on the fate of these FRs, recent papers have shown the presence of some of these compounds in the environment [3, 4] and also their bioaccumulation capacity [5, 6].
In order to investigate the occurrence of FRs in the UK marine environment, >20 halogenated flame retardants plus 16 PBDEs have been analyzed in marine mammals and sediments. The method used employs pressurized liquid extraction, followed by double clean-up with gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and solid phase extraction (SPE) using Florisil, with subsequent analysis by GC-MS/MS and GC-NCI-MS. 21 blubber samples of harbour porpoises collected in 2008 as part of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) were investigated. Additionally, 40 marine and estuarine sediment samples collected in the UK over the period 2010-2012 were analysed. Preliminary results show that some FRs such as DBHCTD (HCDBCO), PBEB, PBT, 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl (BB153) and DDC-CO (DPs) are present in UK samples, currently at much lower concentrations than PBDEs. Over half of the non-BDE halogenated flame retardants analysed for were not detected in any samples.
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2013, Chemosphere, 90, 118–124
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Environ. Sci. Technol, 46 , 12364-12372
