Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which have been widely used in homes, workplaces subsequently became widespread in the environment. They have the potential for release into the environment from production processes, and from the disposal of products containing them. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the status of BFRs pollution in municipal waste dumping sites of Asian developing countries. The soil samples collected from these areas were analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Concentrations of PBDEs ranged from N.D. - 430 ng/g dry wt., while that of HBCDs ranged from N.D. - 2.5 ng/g dry wt. The results of our study suggest that contamination by PBDEs is widespread in various regions of Asia; however, the contamination by HBCDs is still lower.
展开▼