Sichuan Province Ecological Environment Monitoring Station, Chengdu, 610074, China.
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 611756, China.
Environ Res. 2024 Dec 1;262(Pt 1):119842. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119842. Epub 2024 Aug 24.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and their substitutes are prevalent in the environment, especially near industrial point sources. In non-point source pollution areas, it is crucial to investigate the seasonal pollution characteristics to identify the pollution sources. In this study, compositional profiles, seasonal variations, and ecological risks of legacy BFRs and novel BFRs (NBFRs) in the water and sediment from the Tuojiang River located in southwest China were investigated. The results indicated that ΣBFRs ranged from not detected (n.d.) to 42.0 ng/L in water and from 0.13 to 17.6 ng/g in sediment, while ΣNBFRs ranged from n.d. to 15.8 ng/L in water, and from 0.25 to 6.82 ng/g in sediment. A significant seasonal variation was observed in water and sediments with high proportions of legacy BFRs (median percentage of 68.8% and 51.3% in water and sediment) in the dry season, while NBFRs (median percentage of 53.2% and 71.6% in water and sediment) exhibited predominance in the wet season. This highlighted the importance of surface runoff and atmospheric deposition as important sources of NBFRs in aquatic environments. Moreover, there were high ratios of decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and BDE-209 (average: 1.38 and 2.76 in dry and wet season) in sediments adjacent to the residual areas, indicating a consumption shift from legacy BFRs to NBFRs in China. It was observed that legacy BFRs showed higher ecological risks compared to NBFRs in both water and sediment environments, with BDE-209 posing low to medium risks to sediment organisms. This study provides better understanding of contamination characteristics and sources of legacy BFRs and NBFRs in non-point source pollution areas.
溴系阻燃剂（BFRs）及其替代品在环境中普遍存在，尤其是在工业点源附近。在非点源污染地区，调查季节性污染特征以识别污染源至关重要。本研究调查了位于中国西南部的沱江水中和沉积物中传统 BFRs 和新型 BFRs（NBFRs）的组成特征、季节性变化和生态风险。结果表明，水中ΣBFRs 浓度范围为未检出（n.d.）至 42.0ng/L，沉积物中浓度范围为 0.13 至 17.6ng/g，而水中ΣNBFRs 浓度范围为未检出至 15.8ng/L，沉积物中浓度范围为 0.25 至 6.82ng/g。水和沉积物中存在明显的季节性变化，其中传统 BFRs （水中和沉积物中分别为 68.8%和 51.3%）在枯水期占比较高，而 NBFRs（水中和沉积物中分别为 53.2%和 71.6%）在丰水期占比较高。这突出表明，地表径流和大气沉降是水生环境中 NBFRs 的重要来源。此外，在残留区附近的沉积物中，十溴二苯乙烷（DBDPE）和 BDE-209 的比例较高（枯水期和丰水期的平均值分别为 1.38 和 2.76），这表明中国从传统 BFRs 向 NBFRs 的消费转变。研究发现，传统 BFRs 在水和沉积物环境中比 NBFRs 具有更高的生态风险，BDE-209 对沉积物生物的风险为低至中度。本研究为了解非点源污染地区传统 BFRs 和 NBFRs 的污染特征和来源提供了更好的认识。
