Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and Dechlorane Plus in soil from four different industry parks: identification, emission characteristics, spatial distribution, and health risk assessment

Abstract

This study investigated the surface soil of four typical industrial parks involved in crude oil extraction, petroleum refining, and downstream petrochemical manufacturing processes to clarify the emission patterns of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and Dechlorane Plus (DP) in various industrial areas, and reveal their impact on the surrounding environment. The concentrations of PBDEs and DPs in soil from a flame retardant manufacturing park were 4.13 × 10³ and 1.74 × 10³ ng/g, respectively, far exceeding those in three petrochemical parks. Among the 20 PBDE congeners analyzed, BDE209, a Deca-BDE congener, consistently exhibited the highest concentrations across all four sites. However, the relative compositions of syn-DP and anti-DP differed between the flame retardant manufacturing park and the petrochemical parks: the f_anti at the flame retardant manufacturing park was significantly lower than those in the three petrochemical parks. The horizontal spatial distributions of PBDEs and DPs revealed the presence of point source emissions and demonstrated that chemical emissions from the parks influenced surrounding areas. A prolonged emission history contributed to the cumulative concentrations and distinctive composition profiles of these chemicals in soil. Dermal contact-based non-carcinogenic risk assessments indicated that the hazard indices for PBDEs in soil were below 1, suggesting an acceptable health risk. Among PBDE congeners, Tri-BDEs contributed most significantly to non-carcinogenic risks, despite BDE209 being the most abundant. Non-carcinogenic risks associated with DPs were negligible across all four parks.

Keywords

Brominated flame retardant / chlorinated flame retardant / emission / petrochemical industrial / risk assessment

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