Global Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Farmed and Wild Salmon

Ronald A. Hites, Jeffery A. Foran, Steven J. Schwager, Barbara A. Knuth, M. Coreen Hamilton, and David O. Carpenter

School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, Midwest Center for Environmental Science and Public Policy, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology and Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, AXYS Analytical Services Ltd., P.O. Box 2219, 2045 Mills Road, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada V8L 3S8, and Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, Rensselaer, New York 12144

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) serve as flame retardants in a wide variety of commercial and household products. For example, polyurethane foam, which is used widely in upholstered furniture, is flammable unless it is treated with suitable flame retardants such as PBDEs. Because many governments now have regulations requiring household products to be flame resistant, PBDEs have become an important commercial substance. Not surprisingly, the use of PBDEs has increased over the years, and global annual sales are now ~70 000 t. PBDEs are available commercially as three products, two of which are mixtures of several congeners. The so-called penta-product contains 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), 2,2',4,4',5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99), 2,2',4,4',6-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-100), 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-153), and 2,2',4,4',5,6'-hexabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-154) in a ratio of about 9:12:2:1:1. Over 95% of the penta-product produced worldwide is now used in the United States and Canada. The octa-product contains several hexa- to nona-brominated congeners, and the deca-product is composed almost entirely of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209).

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