Atmospheric PBDEs at rural and urban sites in central China from 2010 to 2013: Residual levels, potential sources and human exposure

•Due to endogenesis pollution, the urban areas had a higher air PBDEs than the rural.•The highest and lowest contents were found in the winter and summer, respectively.•Sources were the areas to the north (production places) and the east (e-waste sites).

Atmospheric polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were monitored monthly from 2010 to 2013 at rural and urban sites near a large shallow Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). The urban areas had higher air PBDEs than the rural areas because of endogenic pollution. The highest and lowest concentrations of Σ13BDEs were observed in the winter and in the summer, respectively. A weak temperature dependence and significant positive correlations between certain PBDE congeners and the PM10 (p < 0.01) suggest transport with particulate matter. Using air-mass back-trajectories, we determined that the main sources of the PBDEs were the areas to the north, such as Shandong Province, and to the east, such as Zhejiang Province. PBDEs did not pose an appreciable risk to human health based on the inhalation exposure assessment. The residents in urban areas were exposed to higher levels of PBDEs, and wintertime exposures posed the greatest human health risk.