TY - JOUR

T1 - Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) in surface soils from coastal cities in North China

T2 - correlation between diastereoisomer profiles and industrial activities

AU - Zhang, Yueqing

AU - Li, Qifeng

AU - Lu, Yonglong

AU - Jones, Kevin Christopher

AU - Sweetman, Andrew James

N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chemosphere. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chemosphere, 148, 2016 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.01.051

PY - 2016/4

Y1 - 2016/4

N2 - Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) is a brominated flame retardant with a wide range of industrial applications, although little is known about its patterns of spatial distribution in soils in relation to industrial emissions. This study has undertaken a large-scale investigation around an industrialized coastal area of China, exploring the concentrations, spatial distribution and diastereoisomer profiles of HBCDD in 188 surface soils from 21 coastal cities in North China. The detection frequency was 100% and concentrations of total HBCDD in the surface soils ranged from 0.123 to 363 ng g−1 and averaged 7.20 ng g−1, showing its ubiquitous existence at low levels. The spatial distribution of HBCDD exhibited a correlation with the location of known manufacturing facilities in Weifang, suggesting the production of HBCDD as major emission source. Diastereoisomer profiles varied in different cities. Diastereoisomer compositions in soils were compared with emissions from HBCDD industrial activities, and correlations were found between them, which has the potential for source identification. Although the contemporary concentrations of HBCDD in soils from the study were relatively low, HBCDD-containing products (expanded/extruded polystyrene insulation boards) would be a potential source after its service life, and attention needs to be paid to prioritizing large-scale waste management efforts.

AB - Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) is a brominated flame retardant with a wide range of industrial applications, although little is known about its patterns of spatial distribution in soils in relation to industrial emissions. This study has undertaken a large-scale investigation around an industrialized coastal area of China, exploring the concentrations, spatial distribution and diastereoisomer profiles of HBCDD in 188 surface soils from 21 coastal cities in North China. The detection frequency was 100% and concentrations of total HBCDD in the surface soils ranged from 0.123 to 363 ng g−1 and averaged 7.20 ng g−1, showing its ubiquitous existence at low levels. The spatial distribution of HBCDD exhibited a correlation with the location of known manufacturing facilities in Weifang, suggesting the production of HBCDD as major emission source. Diastereoisomer profiles varied in different cities. Diastereoisomer compositions in soils were compared with emissions from HBCDD industrial activities, and correlations were found between them, which has the potential for source identification. Although the contemporary concentrations of HBCDD in soils from the study were relatively low, HBCDD-containing products (expanded/extruded polystyrene insulation boards) would be a potential source after its service life, and attention needs to be paid to prioritizing large-scale waste management efforts.

KW - HBCDD

KW - Brominated flame retardant

KW - Soil pollution

KW - Emission source

KW - Bohai sea

KW - Yellow sea

U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.01.051

DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.01.051

M3 - Journal article

VL - 148

SP - 504

EP - 510

JO - Chemosphere

JF - Chemosphere

SN - 0045-6535

ER -