Determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in soils and sediment of Hanfeng Lake, Three Gorges

As ubiquitous organic contaminants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were evaluated to explore the impacts of the water level fluctuating zone (WLFZ) on organic pollutant behavior and the retention mechanism of organic pollutants in the bank-WLFZ-water system of Hanfeng Lake in the Three Gorges region of China. The mean concentrations of total PBDEs were 103, 75.2, and 568 ng g(-1) dry wt for bank soils, WLFZ soils, and sediment samples, respectively. Except for sampling sites S1 and S2, the levels of PBDEs decreased in the order of sediment>WLFZ soil > bank soil, suggesting that PBDEs were transferred from bank soil to WLFZ soil and finally deposited in the sediment. Decabromodiphenyl ethers (deca-BDEs) were the predominant congener in the study area, comprising 93.8% to 98.3% of the total PBDEs. Greater photolytic degradation of deca-BDEs was suggested in bank soils based on a higher relative abundance of octa- and nona-BDEs than in WLFZ soils and sediment. This may have occurred because deca-BDEs in bank soils have relatively longer sunlight exposure than in WLFZ soils and sediment due to the annual alternation of water storage and drainage in the catchments of the Three Gorges Reservoir. More in-depth investigations of contaminants in bank-WLFZ-water systems are needed due to the large areas of WLFZ created by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and their importance to the balance of aquatic ecosystems.