1 research outputs found
Flame Retardants and Legacy Chemicals in Great Lakes’ Water
The Great Lakes have
been the focus of extensive environmental
research, but recent data on the aquatic concentrations of emerging
compounds, such as flame retardants, are scarce. Water samples from
18 stations on the five Great Lakes were collected in 2011 and 2012
using XAD-2 resin adsorption and analyzed for PCBs, organochlorine
pesticides, PAHs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and emerging
flame retardants, including organophosphate flame retardants (OPEs).
Total PCB concentrations ranged from 117 ± 18 pg/L in Lake Superior
to 623 ± 113 pg/L in Lake Ontario. Among the organochlorine pesticides,
the most abundant was dieldrin, with the highest average concentration
of 99 ± 26 pg/L in Lake Erie, followed by <i>p</i>,<i>p′</i>-DDD with an average concentration of 37 ±
8 pg/L in Lake Ontario. Total PAH concentrations were higher in Lakes
Erie and Ontario than in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior. Total
PBDE concentrations were highest in Lake Ontario (227 ± 75 pg/L),
and the most abundant congeners were BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-209.
Total OPE concentrations ranged between 7.3 ± 4.5 ng/L in Lake
Huron to 96 ± 43 ng/L in Lake Erie