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Brominated flame retardants and dechlorane plus on a remote high mountain of the eastern Tibetan Plateau: implications for regional sources and environmental behaviors

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Abstract

We investigated the occurrence of halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), six novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) and dechlorane plus in air and soils on the eastern slope of Mt. Gongga on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. We detected all of the NBFR except bis(2-ethylhexyl)-tetrabromophthalate and pentabromoethyl benzene. NBFRs constituted the most prevalent group. BDE-28 and BDE-47 dominated among the PBDE congeners. Decabromodiphenyl ethane was detected at relatively high levels up to 171 pg/m3 and 1450 pg/g dry weight in air and soils, respectively; however, it appeared to be easily degraded in the environment. A general decreasing trend was observed among the HFR concentrations with increasing altitude, and this was due to the prominent contribution of source emissions over possible influence of environmental conditions. This study also suggests that HFRs are supplied to forest soils mainly in the form of precipitation and retained in the O horizon layers.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Scientific Foundation of China (Nos. 41125014 and 41390242), the Joint Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No. U1133004). We acknowledge the field sampling support from Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Xin Liu, Jun Li & Gan Zhang

  2. Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station of Gongga Mountain, The Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Haijian Bing & Yanhong Wu

  3. Circular Economy and Cleaner Production Center, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (SCIES), Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP), Guangzhou, 510655, China

    Yanzhi Chen

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  1. Xin Liu
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  2. Haijian Bing
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  3. Yanzhi Chen
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  4. Jun Li
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  5. Yanhong Wu
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  6. Gan Zhang
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Correspondence to Gan Zhang.

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Liu, X., Bing, H., Chen, Y. et al. Brominated flame retardants and dechlorane plus on a remote high mountain of the eastern Tibetan Plateau: implications for regional sources and environmental behaviors. Environ Geochem Health 40, 1887–1897 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9938-1

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