Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

2018

Journal

Acs Omega

Volume

3

Issue

6

First Page

6595

Last Page

6604

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are "emerged" contaminants that were produced and used as flame retardants in numerous consumer and industrial applications for decades until banned. They remain ubiquitously present in the environment today. Here, a unique set of >200 biotic samples from the Antarctic was analyzed for PBDEs, including phytoplankton, krill, fish, and fur seal milk, spanning several sampling seasons over 14 years. PBDE-47 and -99 were the dominant congeners determined in all samples, constituting > 60% of total PBDEs. A temporal trend was observed for Sigma 7PBDE concentrations in fur seal milk, where concentrations significantly increased (R-2 = 0.57, p < 0.05) over time (2000-2014). Results for krill and phytoplankton also suggested increasing PBDE concentrations over time. Trends of PBDEs in fur seal milk of individual seals sampled 1 or more years apart showed no clear temporal trends. Overall, there was no indication of PBDEs decreasing in Antarctic biota yet, whereas numerous studies have reported decreasing trends in the northern hemisphere. Similar PBDE concentrations in perinatal versus nonperinatal milk implied the importance of local PBDE sources for bioaccumulation. These results indicate the need for continued assessment of contaminant trends, such as PBDEs, and their replacements, in Antarctica.

DOI

10.1021/acsomega.8b00440

Keywords

Persistent Organic Pollutants; Brominated Flame Retardants; Marine Food-Web; Arctocephalus-Gazella; Trematomus-Bernacchii; George Island; Use Patterns; Environment; Atmosphere; Snow

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