Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Occurrence of PFCs and PBDEs in Landfill Leachates from Across Canada

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are both classes of persistent organic pollutants with potential major health and environmental concerns. Many PBDE- and PFC-containing products are ultimately discarded in landfills. In samples from 28 landfills and dumpsites across Canada, PBDEs and PFCs were detected in almost all landfill leachate samples, with concentrations up to 1,020 and 21,300 ng/L, respectively. Mean concentrations were 166 ng/L for PBDEs and 2,950 ng/L for PFCs. Landfill leachates from southern Canada generally had greater concentrations of PBDEs and PFCs than those from northern Canada. The dominant compounds were decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) (mean contribution 52 %) for the PBDEs and perfluorohexanoic acid (mean contribution 25 %) for the PFCs. There were strong correlations for some compounds within each contaminant class, such as the major congeners in the penta-BDE commercial mix (BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-100). Estimated average ∑PBDE and ∑PFC loadings from an urban landfill to the environment were calculated to be 3.5 and 62 tonnes/year, respectively.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We follow the convention of capitalizing commercial products, while using lowercase letters for congener groups.

References

  • Alexander, B. H., Olsen, G. W., Burris, J. M., Mandel, J. H., & Mandel, J. S. (2003). Mortality of employees of a perfluorooctanesulphonyl fluoride manufacturing facility. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60, 722–729.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, M. E., Kasturi, B. S., Barber, M., Kannan, K., MohanKumar, P. S., & MohanKumar, S. M. J. (2003). Neuroendocrine effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate in rats. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111, 1485–1489.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, A. M., Gerstmann, S., & Frank, H. (2008). Perfluorooctane surfactants in waste waters, the major source of river pollution. Chemosphere, 72, 115–121.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birnbaum, L., & Cohen Hubal, E. A. (2006). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers: A case study for using biomonitoring data to address risk assessment questions. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114, 1770–1775.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birnbaum, L., & Staskal, D. (2004). Brominated flame retardants: Cause for concern? Environmental Health Perspectives, 112, 9–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Busch, J., Ahrens, L., Sturm, R., & Ebinghaus, R. (2010). Polyfluoroalkyl compounds in landfill leachates. Environmental Pollution, 158, 1467–1471.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Case, M. T., York, R. G., & Christian, M. S. (2001). Rat and rabbit oral developmental toxicology studies with two perfluorinated compounds. International Journal of Toxicology, 20, 101–109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cousins, I. T., & Palm, A. (2003). Physical–chemical properties and estimated environmental fate of brominated and iodinated organic compounds. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, 3 Part R, 301–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danon-Schaffer, M.N. (2010). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in landfills from electronic waste. Ph.D. thesis. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

  • Darnerud, P. O. (2003). Toxic effects of brominated flame retardants in man and in wildlife. Environmental International, 29, 841–853.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Darnerud, P. O., Aune, M., Larsson, L., & Hallgren, S. (2007). Plasma PBDE and thyroxine levels in rats exposed to Bromkal or BDE-47. Chemosphere, 67, S386–S392.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Boer, J., de Boer, K. & Boon, J.P. (2000). Polybrominated biphenyls and diphenyl ethers. In The handbook of environmental chemistry. New types of persistent halogenated compounds (Vol 3 Part K, pp. 62–95). Berlin: Springer.

  • de Wit, C. (2002). An overview of brominated flame retardants in the environment. Chemosphere, 46, 583–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Destaillats, H., Maddalena, R. L., Singer, B. C., Hodgson, A. T., & McKone, T. E. (2008). Indoor pollutants emitted by office equipment: A review of reported data and information needs. Atmospheric Environment, 42, 1371–1388.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada. (2006). Ecological screening assessment report on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 34 pp

  • Giesy, J. P., & Kannan, K. (2002). Perfluorochemical surfactants in the environment. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 146–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gouin, T., & Harner, T. (2003). Modelling the environmental fate of the polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Environmental International, 29, 717–724.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hale, R. C., Alaee, M., Manchester-Neesvig, J. B., Stapleton, H. M., & Ikonomou, M. G. (2003). Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants in the North American environment. Environmental International, 29, 771–779.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hekster, F. M., Laane, R. W. P. M., & de Voogt, P. (2003). Environmental and toxicity effects of perfluoroalkylated substances. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 179, 99–112.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, C. P., & Luthy, R. G. (2006). Sorption of perfluorinated surfactants on sediments. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 7251–7256.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huset, C. A., Barlaz, M. A., Barfsky, D. F., & Field, J. A. (2011). Quantitative determination of fluorochemicals in municipal landfill leachates. Chemosphere, 82(10), 1380–1386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ikonomou, M. G., Rayne, S., Fischer, M., Fernandez, M. P., & Cretney, W. (2002). Occurrence and congener Profiles of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental samples from coastal British Columbia, Canada. Chemosphere, 46, 649–663.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, A. A., & Leffers, H. (2008). Emerging endocrine disrupters: Perfluoroalkylated substances. International Journal of Andrology, 31, 161–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kallenborn, R., Berger, U., Jarnberg, U., Dam, M., Glesne, O., Hedlund, B., Hirvi, J., Lundgre, A., Mogensen, B.B. & Sigurdsson, A.S. (2004). Perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFCS) in the Nordic environment. Retrieved from http://www.klif.no/nyheter/dokumenter/PFCs_nmr2004.pdf. Accessed 27 Nov 2010.

  • Kannan, K., Newsted, J., Halbrook, R. S., & Giesy, J. P. (2001). Perfluorooctanesulfonate and related fluorinated hydrocarbons in mink and river otters from the United States. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 2566–2571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y., Osako, M., & Sakai, S. (2006). Leaching characteristics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from flame-retardant plastics. Chemosphere, 65, 506–513.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • La Guardia, M. J., Hale, R. C., & Harvey, E. (2006). Detailed polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congener composition of the widely used penta-, octa-, and deca-PBDE technical flame retardant mixtures. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 6247–6254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Guardia, M. J., Hale, R. C., & Harvey, E. (2007). Evidence of debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) in biota from a wastewater receiving stream. Environmental Science and Technology, 41, 6663–6670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, C., Anitole, K., Hodes, C., Lai, D., Pfahles-Hutchens, A., & Seed, J. (2007). Perfluoroalkyl acids: A review of monitoring and toxicological findings. Toxicological Sciences, 99, 366–394.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H., D’Eon, J., & Mabury, S. A. (2010). Biodegradation of polyfluoroalkyl phosphates as a source of perfluorinated acids to the environment. Environmental Science and Technology, 44, 3305–3310.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Legler, J. (2008). New insights into the endocrine disrupting effects of brominated flame retardants. Chemosphere, 73, 216–222.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loganathan, B. G., Sajwan, K. S., Sinclair, E., Kumar, K. S., & Kannan, K. (2007). Perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and perfluorocarboxylates in two wastewater treatment facilities in Kentucky and Georgia. Water Research, 41, 4611–4620.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. W., Smithwick, M. M., Braune, B. M., Hoekstra, P. F., Muir, D. C. G., & Mabury, S. A. (2004). Identification of long-chain perfluorinated acids in biota from the Canadian Arctic. Environmental Science and Technology, 38, 373–380.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murakami, M., Koroda, K., Sato, N., Fukushi, T., Takizawa, S., & Takada, H. (2009). Groundwater pollution by perfluorinated surfactants in Tokyo. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 3480–3486.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Odusanya, D. O., Okonkwo, J. O., & Botha, B. (2009). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in landfill leachates from selected landfill sites in South Africa. Waste Management, 29, 96–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oliaei, F. (2005). Flame retardants: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) background paper. Saint Paul: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliaei, F., Kriens, D., & Kessler, K. (2006). Investigation of perfluorochemical (PFC) contamination in Minnesota phase one: Report to the senate environmental committee. Saint Paul: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Öman, C. B., & Junestedt, C. (2007). Chemical characterization of landfill leachates—400 parameters and compounds. Waste Management, 28, 1876–1891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oros, D. R., Hoover, D., Rodigari, F., Crane, D., & Sericano, J. (2005). Levels and distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in water, surface sediments, and bivalves from the San Francisco estuary. Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 33–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osako, M., Kim, Y. J., & Sakai, S. (2004). Leaching of brominated flame retardants in landfill leachate from landfills in Japan. Chemosphere, 57, 1571–1579.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, J. R., Saez, M., Dolfing, J., & de Voogt, P. (2008). Biodegradation of perfluorinated compounds. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 196, 53–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, A. G., Jones, K. C., & Sweetman, A. J. (2009). A first global production, emission, and environmental inventory for perfluorooctane sulfonate. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 386–392.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, X., Tang, C., Yu, Y., Tan, J., Huang, Q., Wu, J., Chen, S., & Mai, B. (2009). Concentrations, transport, fate, and releases of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sewage treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Environmental International, 35, 303–309.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Petreas, M., & Oros, D. (2009). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in California wastestreams. Chemosphere, 74, 996–1001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pistocchi, A., & Loos, R. (2009). A map of European emissions and concentrations of PFOS and PFOA. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 9237–9244.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prevedouros, K., Cousins, I. T., Buck, R. C., & Korzeniowski, S. H. (2006). Sources, fate and transport of perfluorocarboxylates. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 32–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, F., Langford, K. H., Scrimshaw, M. D., & Lester, J. N. (2001). Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. The Science of the Total Environment, 275, 1–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rayne, S., & Ikonomou, M. G. (2002). Reconstructing source polybrominated diphenyl ether congener patterns from semipermeable membrane devices in the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada: Comparison to commercial mixtures. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 21, 2292–2300.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rayne, S., & Ikonomou, M. G. (2005). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in an advanced wastewater treatment plant 1: Concentrations, patterns, and influence of treatment processes. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science, 4, 353–367.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, B. H. (2009). E-waste: An assessment of global production and environmental impacts. The Science of the Total Environment, 408, 183–191.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, M. H., Berti, W. R., Szostek, B., & Buck, R. C. (2008). Investigation of the biodegradation potential of a fluoroacrylate polymer product in aerobic soils. Environmental Science and Technology, 42, 800–807.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, E., & Kannan, K. (2006). Mass loading and fate of perfluoroalkyl surfactants in wastewater treatment plants. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 1408–1414.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soderstrom, G., Sellstrom, U., de Wit, C. A., & Tysklind, M. (2004). Photolytic debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209). Environmental Science and Technology, 38, 127–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, M., Chu, S., Letcher, R. J., & Seth, B. (2006). Fate, partitioning, and mass loading of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) during the treatment processing of municipal sewage. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 6241–6246.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stockholm Commission. (2009). Governments unite to step-up reduction on global DDT reliance and add nine new chemicals under international treaty. Retrieved from http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=585&ArticleID=6158&l=en. Accessed 27 Nov 2010.

  • Stoker, T. E., Laws, S. C., Crofton, K. M., Hedge, J. M., Ferrell, J. M., & Cooper, R. L. (2004). Assessment of DE-71, a commercial polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) mixture, in the EDSP male and female pubertal protocols. Toxicological Sciences, 78, 144–155.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tseng, L.-H., Lee, C.-W., Pan, M.-H., Tsai, S.-S., Li, M.-H., Chen, J.-R., Lay, J.-J., & Hsu, P.-C. (2006). Postnatal exposure of the male mouse to 2,2′3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′-decabrominated diphenyl ether: Decreased epididymal sperm functions without alterations in DNA content and histology in testis. Toxicology, 224, 33–43.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Zelm, R., Huijbregts, M. A. J., Russell, M. H., Jager, T., & van de Meent, D. (2008). Modeling the environmental fate of prefluorooctanoate and its precursors from global fluorotelomer acrylate polymer use. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 27, 2216–2223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., Luo, X., Zhang, Y., Luo, Y., Chen, S., Mai, B., & Yang, Z. (2008). Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in wild aquatic species from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site in South China. Environmental International, 34, 1009–1113.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wurl, O., Lam, P. K. S., & Obbard, J. P. (2006). Occurrence and distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the dissolved and suspended phases of the sea-surface microlayer and seawater in Hong Kong, China. Chemosphere, 65, 1660–1666.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Young, C. J., Furdui, V. I., Franklin, J., Koerner, R. M., Muir, D. C. G., & Mabury, S. A. (2007). Perfluorinated acids in arctic snow: New evidence for atmospheric formation. Environmental Science and Technology, 41, 3455–3461.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, T., Ross, D. G., DeVito, M. J., & Crofton, K. M. (2001). Effects of short-term in vivo exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers on thyroid hormones and hepatic enzyme activities in weanling rats. Toxicological Sciences, 61, 76–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was conducted as a collaborative project between the University of British Columbia (UBC), Environment Canada (EC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The project was funded primarily by EC via the Environmental Damages Fund. We thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for funding assistance and scholarship support to BL. We also express our appreciation to the students of the UBC 2011 STAT 450 class for assistance with the statistical analyses.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Monica N. Danon-Schaffer

    Present address: Wardrop Engineering Inc., Vancouver, BC, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Belinda Li & Loretta Y. Li

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Monica N. Danon-Schaffer & John R. Grace

  3. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Michael G. Ikonomou

Authors
  1. Belinda Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Monica N. Danon-Schaffer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Loretta Y. Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael G. Ikonomou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John R. Grace
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Loretta Y. Li.

Electronic Supplementary Materials

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PDF 147 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Li, B., Danon-Schaffer, M.N., Li, L.Y. et al. Occurrence of PFCs and PBDEs in Landfill Leachates from Across Canada. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 3365–3372 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1115-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1115-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation