As part of our themed issue focussing on environmental science in Asia and the Pacific, this HOT article from Jianhui Tang , Gan Zhang and co-workers from Chinese Academy of Sciences laboratories looks at the impact of
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). PBDEs are a class of brominated fire retardants (BFRs) that have attracted significant attention due to environmental and health concerns.
Despite the fact that some PBDEs (namely penta- and octa-BDEs) have been listed under the Stockholm Convention and banned in several countries, in China both production and consumption of some PBDE-containing brominated fire retardants have risen rapidly in recent years. This study focuses on the Laizhou Bay area, which is home to the biggest manufacturing base for BFRs in China. By sampling river and coastal sediment in the area they looked at the source and fate of PBDE contaminants in the area, discovering that BDE 209 is the predominant PBDE congener present. Interestingly, however, overall PBDE concentrations were lower than other literature data from European and US ‘hot spots’.
Read more of this thoughtful and thorough study – which comes highly recommended by the referees – it’s currently free to access for four weeks.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the riverine and marine sediments of the Laizhou Bay area, North China
Xiaohui Pan, Jianhui Tang, Jun Li, Guangcai Zhong, Yingjun Chen and Gan Zhang
J. Environ. Monit., 2011, 13, 886-893
DOI: 10.1039/C1EM10169B
