What is it about?
To date, very little or no data exist in literature for some brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polychlorinated biphenyls in Queensland sediments. These pollutants were measured in the sediments along the Brisbane River estuary. The target compounds were regularly detected in measurable concentrations.
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Why is it important?
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCD) are incorporated as additive brominated flame retardant (BFR) compounds in domestic and industrial products. PCBs, the penta- and octa-BDE commercial formulations and HBCD have been listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 2001, 2009 and 2013, respectively under the Stockholm Convention, meaning that these chemicals are subject to legislative bans and restrictions.
Perspectives
Regardless of the ban on persistent organic pollutants, a suite of PBDEs, PCBs and HBCD are present in the Brisbane River estuarine sediment at measurable concentrations. These contaminants are relatively uniformly distributed along the studied sections of the River from the upper part of the estuary through to the heavily urbanised midsection to the River mouth.
Professor Ashantha Goonetilleke
Queensland University of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Distribution of PBDEs, HBCDs and PCBs in the Brisbane River estuary sediment, Marine Pollution Bulletin, July 2017, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.002.
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