Biomaterial Database

Temporal trends and spatial distributions of brominated flame retardants in archived fishes from the Great Lakes. 2004

Ling Yan Zhu, and Ronald A Hites

School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.

To explore the geographical distribution and temporal trends of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Great Lakes, lake trout from Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Ontario and walleye from Lake Erie, collected during the period of 1980-2000, were analyzed. The concentrations of fifteen PBDE congeners and one polybrominated biphenyl (PBB-153) were determined in each fish sample. Lake trout from Lakes Michigan and Ontario had the highest sigmaPBDE concentrations during the years investigated. The sigmaPBDE concentrations in fishes from the five lakes increased exponentially with time, doubling every 3-4 years. The relative proportion of BDEs-47, -99, and -100 compared to BDEs-153 and -154 increased significantly as a function of time. Over the period 1980-2000, the concentrations of PBB-153, which was a component of a flame retardant banned in the 1970s, generally remained the same in these Great Lakes fishes, except for lake trout from Lake Huron, where the PBB-153 concentrations decreased significantly, but slowly.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008055	Lipids	A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Lipid
D010647	Phenyl Ethers	Ethers that are linked to a benzene ring structure.	Diphenyl Oxide,Diphenyl Oxides,Diphenyl Ethers,Ethers, Diphenyl,Ethers, Phenyl,Oxide, Diphenyl,Oxides, Diphenyl
D011075	Polybrominated Biphenyls	Biphenyl compounds which are extensively brominated. Many of these compounds are toxic environmental pollutants.	Polybromobiphenyl Compounds,Biphenyls, Polybrominated,Compounds, Polybromobiphenyl
D012034	Refrigeration	The mechanical process of cooling.	Cold Chain,Chain, Cold,Chains, Cold,Cold Chains
D004784	Environmental Monitoring	The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.	Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D005411	Flame Retardants	Materials applied to fabrics, bedding, furniture, plastics, etc. to retard their burning; many may leach out and cause allergies or other harm.	Fire Retardant,Fire Retardants,Fireproofing Agent,Fireproofing Agents,Flame Retardant,Agent, Fireproofing,Agents, Fireproofing,Retardant, Fire,Retardant, Flame,Retardants, Fire,Retardants, Flame
D005618	Fresh Water	Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.	Freshwater,Fresh Waters,Freshwaters,Water, Fresh,Waters, Fresh
D006114	Great Lakes Region	The geographic area of the Great Lakes in general and when the specific state or states are not indicated. It usually includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
D006842	Hydrocarbons, Brominated	Hydrocarbon compounds with one or more HYDROGEN atoms substituted with BROMINE.	Brominated Hydrocarbons
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia