Concentration Distributions and Accumulations of Brominated Retardants(HBCDDs and PBDEs) in Marine Sediments and Biota from Farming Areas of Korean Coasts

Marine sediments and biota collected from farming areas of Korean coasts were studied to detect the concentrations of brominated flame retardants(BFRs), hexabromocyclododecane(HBCDD) and polybrominated diphenylethers(PBDEs), and to investigate on their distributions and accumulation patterns. The concentrations of HBCDDs in marine sediments and biota were 15-30 times higher than those of PBDEs. However, the concentrations of HBCDDs in marine sediments were not correlated with those of PBDEs(p > 0.05), and the ratio of HBCDDs to PBDEs in marine sediments were higher in farming areas. The major isomer of HBCDDs in marine sediments was γ-HBCDD(72% of the total HBCDDs), similar to those in technical mixtures(80%) and in expanded polystyrene buoy(70%) for aquaculture. In marine biota, α-HBCDD constituted the major percentage(53%) to the total HBCDDs detected. The major congeners of PBDEs were 183, 47, 99, and 153 in marine sediments and 47, 49, 99, and 154 in marine biota, associated with commercial pentaand octa-BDE mixtures. In this study, according to estimation of the biota-sediment accumulation factor, PBDEs showed a higher bioaccumulation potential compared to HBCDDs, and BDE-47 showed the highest bioaccumulation potential among BFRs.