Occurrence of additive brominated flame retardants in aquatic organisms from Tai Lake and Yangtze River in Eastern China, 2009-2012

- Temporal trends of PBDEs and HBCDs were investigated in Tai Lake, 2009-2012.
- Concentrations of PBDEs showed an upward-trend in the final year.
- BDE-47 contributed the greatest proportion of ∑PBDEs with a 100% detection frequency.
- α-HBCD was the predominate isomer that contributed to ∑HBCDs rather than β- or γ-HBCD.
- HBCDs' concentrations in samples of Yangtze River were higher than those of Tai Lake.

Since the phase-out of PBDEs, reports regarding occurrences of these compounds in the environment have become less frequent. To characterize potential influences of the phase-out of PBDEs' on concentrations in the environment, trends in concentrations as a function of time were investigated for two additive brominated flame retardants, PBDEs and HBCDs. Three aquatic species, including shrimp, common carp, and yellow catfish, were collected from Meiliang Bay of Tai Lake, 2009-2012. The analysis of PBDEs in three aquatic organisms has shown a downward-trend in the first three years but a significant upward-trend in the final year. Concentrations of HBCDs have not shown temporal increases in the investigated environments. Concentrations of both PBDEs and HBCDs in the three studied organisms increased as a function of trophic level, which suggested that these additive flame retardants can be biomagnified through the food web of Tai Lake. In accordance with previous publications, PBDE-47 contributed the greatest proportion of ∑PBDEs and had a detection frequency of 100%. α-HBCD was the predominate isomer that contributed to ∑HBCDs. Both β-HBCD and γ-HBCD were likely detected at lesser concentrations than the α-isomer due to differences in bioavailability. Concentrations of ∑PBDEs in the three aquatic organisms from Tai Lake ranged from 1.13 to 97.59 ng g−1 lipid. These concentrations were generally less than those in biota from other countries, but equal to those found at other locations in China. Specimens from the Yangtze River had greater concentrations of ∑HBCDs (169.6-316.5 ng g−1 lipid) than those collected at Tai Lake, which were comparatively greater than many reported concentrations in freshwater organisms from other countries.