The concentrations and distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) were investigated in 28 sediment samples collected from Taihu Lake, Eastern China. The results showed that all three classes of compounds were detected in 28 sediment samples but that PBDEs were the main contaminants in the study area. The total PBDE concentrations ranged from 3.77 to 347 ng/g dry weight (dw) with a mean value of 72.8 ng/g dw, whereas the concentrations ranged from 0.168 to 2.66 and from 0.012 to 1.30 ng/g dw for HBCD and TBBPA, respectively. In all of the sediment samples, BDE-209 was the predominant congener, accounting for 95.9 to 98.6 % of the total PBDEs, which indicated that commercial mixtures of deca-BDEs were the main sources of PBDE contamination. Higher concentrations of PBDEs were found in samples collected from Meiliang Bay and Gonghu Bay near the inflow river, which suggested that inflow runoff might play an important role in the PBDE levels in Taihu Lake sediments.
Keywords: Hexabromocyclododecane; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Sediment; Taihu Lake; Tetrabromobisphenol A.