Occurrence of brominated flame retardants and perfluoroalkyl substances in fish from the Czech aquatic ecosystem

This study reports results of analysis of various groups of halogenated compounds, including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), such as polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in 48 fish samples collected in eight localities from the Czech Republic. In this survey, identification of potential sources of these chemicals was also performed; therefore several sampling sites located in highly industrialized areas were also selected. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) was dominating in all tested fish samples. Generally, the content of ∑ BFRs was significantly lower, i.e. in the range of 0.21-19.9 μg/kg wet weight, ww (median value 2.37 μg/kg ww) compared to the concentration of ∑ PFASs that was in the range of 0.15-877 μg/kg ww (median value 8.5 μg/kg ww). The extremely high content of PFOS (842 μg/kg ww) was found in fish muscle tissue from the locality situated on the Bílina River, where chemical industry is located. This concentration was comparable to those found in similar highly industrialized areas worldwide.