An Asia-Specific Source of Dechlorane Plus: Concentration, Isomer Profiles, and Other Related Compounds.

The distribution of dechloranes, a group of chlorinated flame retardants, were investigated in air, soil, and sediment around a newly discovered Dechlorane Plus (DP) production facility in China (Anpon). To date, the only known DP manufacturing plant is located in Niagara Falls, NY (OxyChem). Dechloranes including DP, Dechlorane (Mirex), and the recently discovered Dechlorane 602 (Dec 602) were detected in air, soil, and sediment, while Dechlorane 603 and Dechlorane 604 were below detection limit in all matrices. DP air concentrations near the facility ranged from 7737 to 26734 pg m-3, the greatest reported thus far. Soil concentrations in the same area for DP, Dechlorane, and Dec 602 were 1490 ± 3580 ng g-1, 81.6 ± 96.5 ng g-1, and 7.24 ± 13.2 ng g-1 dry weight, respectively. Interestingly, lower concentrations of DP (4.93 ± 4.34 ng g-1), Dechlorane (30.2 ± 19.9 ng g-1), and Dec 602 (2.14 ± 2.23 ng g-1) were found in sediment from a nearby canal. Spatial trends of Dechlorane and Dec 602 in soil were similar to DP, implying that the DP manufacturing plant may also be a source of these other flame retardants. DP soil concentrations surrounding the facility decreased by an order of magnitude within 7.5 km. The syn-DP fractional abundance (fsyn) value (0.40) for the commercial DP product manufactured at Anpon was slightly higher than that (0.20-0.36) produced by OxyChem. The fsyn value in most air samples was largely similar to the Chinese commercial DP mixture, while most soil and sediment abundances were lower, suggesting a stereoselective depletion of syn-DP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]