Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) in the abiotic environment: surface water and precipitation from Ontario, Canada

Hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs) have been identified as metabolites of PBDEs, and also as compounds of natural origin in the marine environment; however, there has only been very limited study of their presence in the abiotic environment. In the present study, OH-PBDEs were determined in samples of surface water and precipitation (rain and snow) collected from sites in Ontario, Canada. OH-PBDEs were detected in all the samples analyzed, although half of the observed peaks did not correspond to any of the 18 authentic standards available. Fluxes of sigmaOH-PBDEs ranged from 3.5 to 190 pg/m2 in snow and from 15 to 170 pg/m2/day in rain, and those were higher at three of the southern Ontario locations relative to a single northern remote site. Concentrations of sigmaOH-PBDEs ranged from 2.2 to 70 pg/L in water and from < 1 to 420 pg/g in particulate organic carbon (POC), and higher values were found near sewage treatment plant (STP) outfalls in Lake Ontario. Partition coefficients (log K(oc)) for OH-PBDEs ranged from 4.0 to 5.1. The results in this study suggest that OH-PBDEs are ubiquitous in the abiotic environment and most likely are produced through reaction of PBDEs with atmospheric OH radicals. As well, they may be present in surface waters near STPs due to oxidation of PBDEs and inflows from metabolism by humans and animals.