Bioaccumulation of Dechloranes, organophosphate esters, and other flame retardants in Great Lakes fish

•A range of 60 flame retardants (Decs, OPEs and BFRs) were measured in fish from the Great Lakes.•Dec604 analogues were detected in fish from outside of Lake Ontario.•The distribution pattern of Decs, OPEs, and BFRs in fish, air, and water was compared.•The absence of some Decs in air and water may be due to their high accumulation and low volatility.•The absence of some OPEs and BFRs in fish may be due to their metabolic degradation.

We measured the concentrations of 60 flame retardants (and related compounds) in fish samples collected in the Great Lakes basin. These analytes include dechlorane-related compounds (Decs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Composite lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) or walleye (Sander vitreus, from Lake Erie) samples were collected (N = 3 for each lake) in 2010 from each of the five Great Lakes (a total of 15 samples). Among the dechlorane-related compounds, Dechlorane, Dechlorane Plus, Dechlorane-602, Dechlorane-603, and Dechlorane-604 (with zero to three bromines and with four chlorines) were detected in > 73% of the fish samples. The concentrations of some of these dechlorane-related compounds were 3-10 times higher in Lake Ontario trout than in fish from the other four lakes. Tris(1-chloroisopropyl) phosphate, tri-n-butylphosphate, tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate, and triphenyl phosphate were found in > 50% of the fish samples. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were the most abundant of the flame retardants in fish, with a mean concentration of 250 ng/g lipid. Our findings suggest that the Decs and BFRs with 3-6 bromines are more bioaccumulative in the fish than the OPEs and high molecular weight BFRs.

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