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Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the environmental systems: a review

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Abstract

PBDEs are human-influenced chemicals utilized massively as flame retardants. They are environmentally persistent, not easily degraded, bioaccumulate in the biological tissue of organisms, and bio-magnify across the food web. They can travel over a long distance, with air and water being their possible transport media. They can be transferred to non-target organisms by inhalation, oral ingestion, breastfeeding, or dermal contact. These pollutants adsorb easily to solid matrices due to their lipophilicity and hydrophobicity; thus, sediments from rivers, lakes, estuaries, and ocean are becoming their major reservoirs aquatic environments. They have low acute toxicity, but the effects of interfering with the thyroid hormone metabolism in the endocrine system are long term. Many congeners of PBDEs are considered to pose a danger to humans and the aquatic environment. They have shown the possibility of causing many undesirable effects, together with neurologic, immunological, and reproductive disruptions and possible carcinogenicity in humans. PBDEs have been detected in small amounts in biological samples, including hair, human semen, blood, urine, and breastmilk, and environmental samples such as sediment, soil, sewage sludge, air, biota, fish, mussels, surface water, and wastewater. The congeners prevailing in environmental samples, with soil being the essential matrix, are BDE 47, 99, and 100. BDE 28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183 are more frequently detected in human tissues, whereas in sediment and soil, BDE 100 and 183 predominate. Generally, BDE 153 and 154 appear very often across different matrices. However, BDE 209 seems not frequently determined, owing to its tendency to quickly breakdown into smaller congeners. This paper carried out an overview of PBDEs in the environmental, human, and biota niches with their characteristics, physicochemical properties, and fate in the environment, human exposure, and health effects.

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Acknowledgments

The authors specially thank the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) for funding support.

Funding

The research was funded by the South African Medical Research Council (grant number UFH/SAMRC/P790).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa

    Chinemerem Ruth Ohoro, Abiodun Olagoke Adeniji, Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh & Omobola Oluranti Okoh

  2. Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa

    Chinemerem Ruth Ohoro, Abiodun Olagoke Adeniji & Omobola Oluranti Okoh

  3. Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa

    Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh

  4. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh

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  1. Chinemerem Ruth Ohoro
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Conceptualization and writing of the manuscript as part of Ph.D. research work—C.R.O.; review, editing, and revision of the manuscript—A.O.A., O.O.O., and A.I.O.; Ph.D. research supervision and funding—O.O.O. and A.I.O. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chinemerem Ruth Ohoro.

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Ohoro, C.R., Adeniji, A.O., Okoh, A.I. et al. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the environmental systems: a review. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 19, 1229–1247 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-021-00656-3

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