Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in soils along a rural-urban-rural transect: sources, concentration gradients, and profiles |
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Authors: | Gevao Bondi Ghadban Abdul Nabi Uddin Saif Jaward Foday M Bahloul Majed Zafar Jamal |
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Institution: | a Department of Environmental Science, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait b Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC56, Tampa, FL 33612-3805, USA |
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Abstract: | This study reports concentrations of PBDEs in surface soil samples collected along a 140 km transect across Kuwait to assess the role of urban centers as sources of persistent organic pollutants to the surrounding environment. The ΣPBDE concentrations varied by a factor of ∼250 and ranged from 289 to 80,078 pg g−1 d.w. The concentrations of PBDEs in Kuwait City were significantly higher (p < 0.01) than those collected from sites outside the city supporting the hypothesis that urban centers are sources of PBDEs. The congener profiles were dominated by BDE-209, accounting for 93% of the PBDEs in the soil samples. The concentrations of all congeners (except BDE-209) were highly correlated with percent organic carbon (%OC) (p > 0.05) when the data from Kuwait City was omitted from the analysis. These findings suggest that soil concentrations outside the urban centers were close to equilibrium with the atmosphere. |
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Keywords: | Polybrominated diphenyl ethers Surface soil Persistent organic pollutants Atmospheric deposition Urban pulse |
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