Determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in environmental standard reference materials

The total concentrations (sigmaPBDE) of 15 polybrominated diphenyl ethers, BDEs 17, 28, 47, 49, 66, 71, 85, 99, 100, 138, 153, 154, 183, 190, and 209, and a predominant polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) congener, 2,2',4,4',5,5'-polybrominated biphenyl (PBB-153) were determined in six natural matrix Standard Reference Materials (SRM) provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The sigmaPBDE concentrations (+/- one standard deviation) in SRM 1945 (whale blubber), SRM 1946 (fish tissue), SRM 1947 (fish tissue), and SRM 1974b (mussel tissue) were 126 +/- 7, 79 +/- 3, 134 +/- 5, and 7.9 +/- 0.2 ng/g of wet wt, respectively. The sigmaPBDE concentrations were 54 +/- 2 and 163 +/- 4 ng/g of dry wt for SRM 2977 (mussel tissue) and SRM 2978 (mussel tissue), respectively. Among the three kinds of marine animals, mussel tissue had the lowest total concentration of PBDEs. These values can provide an informal reference or benchmark to laboratories who measure these compounds.