Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in atmosphere from three different typical industrial areas in Beijing, China

• First report of PBDEs detection in gaseous and PM from different industrial regions in China.
• Tri-BDEs were the dominant PBDEs in gaseous.
• Penta-, tetra-, and deca-BDEs were dominant PBDEs in particulate matter.
• The PBDE distributions in gaseous and particulate matter were quite different.
• Human exposure to PBDEs via gas and particles inhalation was reported.

Three common industries that cause polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) pollution in Beijing, China, are solid waste incineration, chemical manufacturing, and coal-fired thermal power generation. This study was conducted to determine both the concentrations and profiles of 42 PBDEs in gaseous and particulate matter (including PM2.5, PM2.5–10, and total suspended particulate (TSP)) from the major industries listed above at three sites in Beijing. The total concentration of PBDEs (defined as the sum of 42 congeners in gas and TSP) were 60.5–216 pg m−3 at the solid waste incineration plant, 71.8–7500 pg m−3 at the chemical plant, and 34.4–454 pg m−3 at the coal-fired thermal power plant. The results indicate that the components of PBDE in gas were similar between three industrial sites, and the dominant congener was tri-BDEs. However, in particulate matter, the dominant BDEs were different between the three sites, possibly because they originated from different sources. In particulate matter, the dominant PBDEs were penta-BDEs at the solid waste incineration plant, deca-BDE at the coal-fired thermal power plant, and tetra-BDEs and deca-BDE at the chemical plant. Source analysis revealed that PBDE contamination might be associated with the use of different commercial PBDE flame-retardant mixtures. Results from a previous risk assessment indicated that the risk to human health was low. However, results from this study suggest that there is a potential threat associated with human exposure to PBDEs for the residents near these industrial sites.