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Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the surface sediment of the East China Sea

  • Article
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in the surface sediments of 20 locations in the East China Sea (ECS). The ∑PBDEs (sum of 13 PBDE congeners, without brominated diphenyl ether 209 (BDE209) ranged from 2.6 to 49 pg g−1 (dry weight) with an average of 21 pg g−1, which fell at the low end of the global range. The spatial distribution presented an offshore decreasing trend towards the outer shelf and along the coastline, suggesting a direct influence of the inputs by the Yangtze River. The ∑PBDE concentrations were influenced by the total organic carbon of the sediment, as demonstrated by their similar spatial distributions. The ∑C27 + C29 + C31 n-alkanes concentrations and sand % reported in the literature for sediments in the ECS presented similar spatial distributions as ∑PBDEs, which suggests that a considerable part of ∑PBDEs may come from the Yangtze River and that grain size plays an important role in PBDE accumulation. The three dominant congeners were BDE28 (19.8 %), BDE47 (26.4 %), and BDE99 (16.8 %). The present study compared the congener patterns of the sedimentary PBDEs with those of commercial products. The results indicated the possible use of penta-BDE in the Yangtze River Basin in a wide range or the fractionation and transformation of PBDE congeners during their long-range transport.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21007062), the National Key Technology R&D Program (2012BAC07B02), the Young Teachers Special Fund, Ocean University of China (201013018), the Open Funding of the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology (KF2009-21), and the Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science and Engineering, SOA (MESE-2011-07). This is Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education (MCTL) contribution No. 16.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Huijuan Li & Zongshan Zhao

  2. College of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China

    Jing Lan

  3. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Guoliang Li, Zongshan Zhao & Guibin Jiang

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  1. Huijuan Li
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  2. Jing Lan
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  3. Guoliang Li
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  4. Zongshan Zhao
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  5. Guibin Jiang
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Correspondence to Zongshan Zhao.

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Li, H., Lan, J., Li, G. et al. Distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the surface sediment of the East China Sea. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 379–387 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-0054-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-013-0054-z

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