Polyethylene mesh knitted fabrics mulching the soil to mitigate China's haze: A potential source of PBDEs

The fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from polyethylene mesh knitted fabrics (PMKFs) to mulched soil and nearby plants was studied. PBDEs in the soil sample collected from Tianjin University of Commerce in April 2019 increased significantly after 6 months of PMKF mulching owing to PMKFs as the main input source. The compositional profiles/congener patterns of the PBDEs in the soil and PMKFs became similar after 6 months. High correlations were found between ΣPBDEs in the soil and PMKFs in October 2019, with no significant correlation in April. Plants could take up, accumulate and biotransform PBDEs in contaminated soil. The uptake of BDE-209 by plants was the highest compared with other lesser brominated PBDE congeners, due to its higher log Kow value and molecular weight or size. BDE-47 taken up in the plant was biotransformed via hydroxylation. These results prove that the government's PMKF solution to haze is causing environmental problems in bare soil, i.e., PBDE pollution in both soil and nearby plants. The present study provides important pieces of evidence for government and policymakers, and it is recommended that one environmental problem is not solved by creating another.