Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in atmosphere and soil of a production area in China: Levels and partitioning

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in atmosphere and soil samples taken in winter and summer at a PBDE production area of Laizhou Bay in China. The concentrations of σ11PBDE were 0.017–1.17 ng/m3 in gaseous phase, 0.5–161.1 ng/m3 in particulate phase, and 73–2629 ng/g dry weight in soil samples. The PBDE congener pattern in the gaseous phase differed from that in the particulate phase, and the PBDE congener pattern in the particulate phase was similar with that in soil. This demonstrated that there was little difference with atmospheric particle-soil transfer efficiency among PBDE congeners. In addition, there were seasonal variations in percentages on particle for lower brominated congeners. The BDE-28 was mostly in the gaseous phase in summer (88.3%), whereas the average proportion of BDE-28 in gaseous phase in winter was 38.9%. Higher brominated congeners (i.e., BDE-206, BDE-207, BDE-208, and BDE-209) were bound to the atmospheric particulate phase, and their potentials for long-range migration were mainly affected by the environmental behavior of atmospheric particles. Results indicated that PBDE congeners in summer were closer to gas-particle partition equilibrium than in winter. Temperature should be considered the main factor causing nonequilibrium in winter.