Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are anthropogenic compounds that are ubiquitous in most manufactured goods. Few legacy BFRs have been recognised as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and have been prohibited since the 2000s. However, most BFRs continue to be used despite growing concerns regarding their toxicity; they are often referred to as novel BFRs (nBFRs). While environmental contamination due to chlorinated POPs has been extensively investigated, the levels and spatiotemporal trends of BFRs are comparatively understudied. This study aims to reconstruct the temporal trends of both legacy and novel BFRs at the scale of a river corridor. To this end, sediment cores were sampled from backwater areas in four reaches along the Rhône River. Age-depth models were established for each of them. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), legacy BFRs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers - PBDEs, polybrominated biphenyls - PBBs and hexabromocyclododecane - HBCDDs) and seven nBFRs were quantified. Starting from the 1970s, a decreasing contamination trend was observed for PCBs. Temporal trends for legacy BFRs revealed that they reached peak concentrations from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, and stable concentrations by the mid-2010s. Additionally, individual concentrations of nBFRs were two to four orders of magnitude lower than those of legacy BFRs. Their temporal trends revealed that they appeared in the environment in the 1970s and 1980s. The concentrations of most of these nBFRs have not decreased in recent years. Thus, there is a need to comprehend the sources, contamination load, repartition in the environment, and toxicity of nBFRs before their concentrations reach hazardous levels.
Keywords: Brominated flame retardants; Contamination trend; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Rhône River; Sediment core.
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