5 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
Enantiospecific Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) Analysis Reveals Evidence for the Source Contribution of PFOS-Precursors to the Lake Ontario Foodweb
Exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) may arise
directly,
from emission and exposure to PFOS itself, or indirectly via the environmental
release and degradation of PFOS-precursors. Human serum enantiomer
fractions (EFs) of 1<i>m</i>-PFOS have been shown to be
nonracemic, suggesting that PFOS-precursors are a significant source
of PFOS in humans, but little is known about the importance of PFOS-precursors
in ecosystems. In the current work, concentrations of PFOS, perfluorooctane
sulfonamide (PFOSA), PFOS isomer profiles, and EFs of 1<i>m</i>-PFOS were determined in Lake Ontario water, sediment, fishes and
invertebrates. Concentrations of PFOS and PFOSA were highest in slimy
sculpin and <i>Diporeia</i>, and concentrations of the two
compounds were often correlated. 1<i>m</i>-PFOS was racemic
in sediment, water, sculpin and rainbow smelt, but nonracemic in the
top predator, lake trout, and all invertebrate species. Furthermore,
EFs were correlated with the relative concentrations of PFOS and PFOSA
in invertebrates. Overall, these empirical observations with a new
analytical tool confirm previous suggestions that PFOS-precursors
contribute to PFOS in the food web, likely via sediment. Implications
are that future PFOS exposures in this ecosystem will be influenced
by an in situ source, and that the apparent environmental behavior
of PFOS (e.g., bioaccumulation potential) can be confounded by precursors
Non-target assessment of the maternal transfer of non-polar toxic organic compounds in European eels by GCxGC-TOF and GC-FTICR-MS
Chemical pollution is hypothesized as one of the factors driving the strong decline of the critically endangered European eel population. Specifically the impact of contaminants on the quality of spawning eels and subsequent embryo survival and development has been discussed as crucial investigation point. However, so far only very limited information on potential negative effects of contaminants on the reproduction of eels is available.Â
Through the combination of non-targeted ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry and multidimensional gas chromatography, combined with more conventional targeted analytical approaches, compounds of particular relevance and their maternal transfer in artificially matured European eels from the German river Ems have been identified.Â
Substituted diphenylamines were, unexpectedly, found to be the primary organic contaminants in the eel samples, with concentrations exceeding 10 µg g-1 ww. Furthermore, it could be shown that these contaminants, as well as known contaminants in eel such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are not merely stored in lipid rich tissue of eels, but maternally transferred into gonads and eggs.Â
The results of this study provide unpreceded information on both the fate and behavior of substituted diphenylamines in the environment as well as their relevance as contaminants in European eels.</p
Identification and Occurrence of Analogues of Dechlorane 604 in Lake Ontario Sediment and their Accumulation in Fish
The
dechlorane family of flame retardants, which includes Mirex
(also known as Dechlorane), Dechlorane Plus (DP), and Dechloranes
(Dec) 602, 603, and 604, were manufactured at a facility along the
Niagara River, upstream of Lake Ontario. Some of these compounds remain
in use. In a previous study, we found Mirex and Dec602 to have greater
bioaccumulation potentials than Dec604 and DP based on calculated
biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). In this study, analogues
of Dec604, containing fewer bromines and mixed substitutions of bromine
and chlorine, were identified in Lake Ontario sediment and fish using
high and ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometric techniques. The tribromo-Dec604
(Br<sub>3</sub>Dec604) analogue, known as Dechlorane 604 Component
B (Dec604 CB), was present in lake trout and whitefish at concentrations
of 10–60 ng/g lipid weight, approximately 50–200 times
greater than concentrations measured for Dec604. In addition, BrDec604
and Br<sub>2</sub>Dec604 analogues, and mixed Br<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub>Dec604, Br<sub>3</sub>ClDec604, Br<sub>2</sub>ClDec604, and
BrCl<sub>2</sub>Dec604 analogues were also present. We have shown
that solutions of Dec604 and Dec604 CB exposed to UV-light undergo
photodebromination and give rise to the analogues found in sediment
and fish. Dec604 CB and other lesser halogenated analogues of Dec604
show greater bioaccumulation potentials than Dec604, Dec602 and DP,
based on BSAFs, which highlight the need to consider likely impurities
and degradation products in the assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative,
and toxic compounds
Evidence for High Concentrations and Maternal Transfer of Substituted Diphenylamines in European Eels Analyzed by Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography–Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry and Gas Chromatography–Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry
Chemical pollution
is hypothesized to be one of the factors driving
the strong decline of the critically endangered European eel population.
Specifically, the impact of contaminants on the quality of spawning
eels and subsequent embryo survival and development has been discussed
as crucial investigation point. However, so far, only very limited
information on potential negative effects of contaminants on the reproduction
of eels is available. Through the combination of nontargeted ultrahigh-resolution
mass spectrometry and multidimensional gas chromatography, combined
with more-conventional targeted analytical approaches and multimedia
mass-balance modeling, compounds of particular relevance, and their
maternal transfer in artificially matured European eels from the German
river Ems have been identified. Substituted diphenylamines were, unexpectedly,
found to be the primary organic contaminants in the eel samples, with
concentrations in the μg g<sup>–1</sup> wet weight range.
Furthermore, it could be shown that these contaminants, as well as
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polyaromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), are not merely stored in lipid rich tissue of
eels but maternally transferred into gonads and eggs. The results
of this study provide unique information on both the fate and behavior
of substituted diphenylamines in the environment as well as their
relevance as contaminants in European eels