Flame retardants in the atmosphere near the Great Lakes. 2008

Marta Venier, and Ronald A Hites
School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.

As part of the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN), air samples were collected at five sites around the Great Lakes (two urban, two rural, and one remote) every 12 days during 2005-2006, and the concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-ethane (TBE), Dechlorane Plus (DP), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBD PE) were measured. The highest mean concentrations of total PBDEs were found at the urban sites in Chicago and Cleveland (65 +/- 4 and 87 +/- 8 pg/m3, respectively), and the lowest at the remote site in Eagle Harbor (5.8 +/- 0.4 pg/m3). With the exception of Chicago, the atmospheric concentrations of BDE-47 and 99 (summed over the gas and particle phases) are decreasing rapidly with half-lives of approximately 2 years, but the concentrations of BDE-209 are not decreasing at any of the five sites. The atmospheric partial pressures of BDE-47 and 99 showed a strong Clausius-Clapeyron relationship with reciprocal atmospheric temperature. TBE, DBDPE and DP were detected at all sites, but with the exception of Chicago, there were insufficient data to determine temporal trends for these compounds. The influence of human population density and synoptic atmospheric transport patterns was explored to explain the relatively high concentrations of BDE-209 in Cleveland.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
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
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
D000393 Air Pollutants Any substance in the air which could, if present in high enough concentration, harm humans, animals, vegetation or materials. Substances include GASES; PARTICULATE MATTER; and volatile ORGANIC CHEMICALS. Air Pollutant,Air Pollutants, Environmental,Environmental Air Pollutants,Environmental Pollutants, Air,Air Environmental Pollutants,Pollutant, Air,Pollutants, Air,Pollutants, Air Environmental,Pollutants, Environmental Air
D001272 Atmosphere The gaseous envelope surrounding a planet or similar body. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed) Atmospheres
D013696 Temperature The property of objects that determines the direction of heat flow when they are placed in direct thermal contact. The temperature is the energy of microscopic motions (vibrational and translational) of the particles of atoms. Temperatures

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