Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) do not remove organic compounds in treated water and, therefore, serve as concentration centers for these compounds, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). PBDEs exist in 209 congeners, four of which are of primary human health concern due to the ability of these congeners to bioaccumulate and to biomagnify. In the human body, these congeners accumulate in blood, breast milk, adipose tissue, liver, and thyroid; contribute to causation of neurological and immunological disorders; transfer across placental tissue leading to premature delivery of infants; and act as a potential carcinogen. 1.1 Liter water samples were collected at three different location types within Loyalhanna Creek: points above local WWTPs, points within WWTP discharge, and points after local WWTPs. Samples were extracted using solid phase extraction (SPE) and were eluted into an organic matrix of methylene chloride and acetone. The eluent was concentrated to 1.0 milliLiter in volume using         Kuderna-Danish concentration. The final concentrate was analyzed for PBDE-43, -99, -100, -153, and -209 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results will determine the presence and spatial distribution of these congeners in aqueous form within Loyalhanna Creek. The results will also be cross-interpreted with similar results obtained from fish tissue in order to establish fate of these congeners within the local stream ecosystem. Overall, this study enables a larger view of PBDE fate in the environment.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether analysis of Loyalhanna Creek, Pennsylvania

247th National Meeting (2014)

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