Bioavailability of classical and novel flame retardants: Effect of fullerene presence.

To understand the behavior of some emerging flame retardants (FRs) in the environment, a nonexhaustive extraction using Tenax was applied to study their behavior in aquatic ecosystems. Desorption of 8 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 8 methoxylated PBDEs, 3 emerging brominated FRs and 6 halogenated norbornenes from sediments spiked in the laboratory was studied. Results showed that emerging FRs have a similar bioavailability than that of legacy FRs, already banned. In addition, some parameters such as sediment total organic carbon (TOC), aging or nanomaterial (NMs) presence in the sediment were modified in order to study their effects on the bioavailability of FRs. Bioavailability increases with a diminution of sediment TOC, while diminishes with an increase of aging. The study of effect of NM presence was performed at three different pH (acidic, neutral and basic), and for the three scenarios, FR bioavailability decreased with NM presence. The retention of pollutants in the sediment seems to be favoured by NM presence, minimizing their impact on living organisms.

Occurrence of classic and emerging halogenated flame retardants in sediment and sludge from Ebro and Llobregat river basins (Spain).

Classic (polybromodiphenyl ethers, PBDEs) and emerging halogenated flame retardants such as hexabromobenzene (HBB), pentabromoetilbenzene (PBEB), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), Dechlorane 602 (Dec 602), Dechlorane 603 (Dec 603), Dechlorane 604 (Dec 604) and Dechlorane plus (DP) were analyzed in 33 sediments and 7 sludges from two Iberian river basins, Ebro and Llobregat. In sediment samples, PBDE levels ranged between nd and 44.3ng/g dw with BDE-209 being the most abundant congener. Levels of DBDPE and halogenated norbornenes ranged between nd and 31.5ng/g dw and between nq and 3.74ng/g dw, respectively. This is the first study to report halogenated norbornene levels in sediment samples from Spain. PBDE, DBDPE and halogenated norbornene levels in sludge ranged from 13 to 340, nq to 124 and 2.7 to 19ng/g dw, respectively. HBB and PBEB were not detected in any sample. Levels of classic and emerging HFRs were compared. Our results suggest that DBDPE is the most frequently used compound to replace BDE-209, whereas the use of halogenated norbornenes is still low.