Occurrence and Bioavailability of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Hexabromocyclododecane in Sediment and Fish from the Cinca River, a Tributary of the Ebro River (Spain)

Abstract

Fish and sediments from four places along the Spanish River Cinca were analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). The samples were collected up- and downstream from Monzón, a heavily industrialized town draining to the river. PBDEs and HBCD were found in sediments at levels ranging from 2 to 42 ng/g dry weight and from not detected (nd) to 514 ng/g dry weight, respectively. Twenty-three fish samples (Barbus graellsi) collected at the same places were also analyzed, showing levels from nd to 446 ng/g wet weight for PBDEs and from nd to 1172 ng/g wet weight for HBCD. The lowest values for both sediment and fish samples were found upstream of the industry. Of 40 congeners (from mono- to deca-BDEs) included in the analytical work, 8 PBDE congeners were detected in river sediments, whereas 17 different PBDEs were found in fish samples. Large fish-to-sediment ratios for these brominated compounds indicate that they are highly bioavailable, with the exception of deca-BDE which was only detected in sediment samples. Concentrations of PBDEs and HBCD were slightly higher in muscle tissues than in liver samples obtained from the same specimen of fish. Moreover, PBDE and HBCD concentrations are correlated with fish length indicating the bioaccumulation of these contaminants.

Hexabromocyclododecane in consumer fish from South China: Implications for human exposure via dietary intake

“…2a). Similar findings were reported for the Cinca River [21] and Lake Winnipeg [31] food webs. HBCD tends to accumulate in the adipose tissue because of its relatively high octanol-water partition coefficient (log K OW ¼ 5.6) [3].…”

“…SHBCD concentrations determined in the present study (nd-194 pg/g wet wt or nd-2.9 ng/g lipid wt) were comparable to those in two marine fish species from nine Chinese coastal cities (0.57-10.1 ng/g lipid wt) [19] but slightly lower than those in fish from the Yangtze River (12-330 ng/g lipid wt) [12], the Asia-Pacific region (<0.1-45 ng/g lipid wt) [4], and Lake Ontario (400-3,800 pg/g wet wt for a-HBCD and 100-700 pg/g wet wt for g-HBCD in lake trout) [20]. Moreover, our data were approximately three orders of magnitude lower than those in fish from Europe [21][22][23][24], where HBCD is used intensively, and from e-waste dismantling sites in China [11,25]. For example, Allchin and Morris [24] examined HBCD in edible fish (brown trout and eel) from the Rivers Skerne and Tees in the United Kingdom and observed a mean concentration of SHBCD of 2,300 ng/g wet weight, with the highest value exceeding 6,700 ng/g wet weight downstream of a point source.…”

Hexabromocyclododecane Challenges Scientists and Regulators

“…Moreover, pure HBCD undergoes decomposition by elimination of hydrogen bromide at temperatures >240 °C (16,17). Not surprisingly, partial breakdown (15) and even complete loss of HBCD have been reported in GC systems. The thermal exposure of HBCD must therefore be minimized during analysis.…”

“…HBCD has also been detected in both freshwater and marine biota (15,23,25). Fish that lived downstream from an HBCD manufacturing plant had very high concentrations of HBCD (>10 mg/kg wet weight) (23).…”

Thyroid disruption by technical decabromodiphenyl ether (DE-83R) at low concentrations in Xenopus laevis

“…Commercially used technical PBDE products are pentabrominated BDE (pentaBDE), octabrominated BDE (octaBDE) and decabrominated BDE (decaBDE). Due to the increasing evidence about their toxicity and bioaccumulation (Mariussen and Fonnum, 2003;Eljarrat et al, 2004), the production of penta-and octaBDE was banned in the European Union in 2004 and in several states in U. S.A.…”