Polybrominated diphenyl ethers concentrations in fish processing plant effluent.

The total concentration of PBDEs in the wastewater from fish plants ranged from 82 to 35,055 pg/L which was higher than ambient concentrations measured in surface water samples in North America (6-158 pg/L). Based on the concentration of PDBES in the effluent, calculated daily discharge of PBDEs into the environment ranged from 0.03 to 13.34 g per day. The concentrations of PBDEs in the solid fraction of the effluent from this study has been calculated to range from 0.78 ng/g for scallop, to 3,505 ng/g for cod with herring having the second highest concentration of 1,534 ng/g.