Temporal and spatial distributions of PBDEs in atmosphere at Shanghai rural regions, China.

Atmospheric samples were collected using polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampling device for every 3 months from June 2012 to May 2013 in Shanghai rural regions in order to investigate the concentrations, profiles, spatial distributions, and seasonal variations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Twelve PBDE congeners (BDE-17, BDE-28, BDE-47, BDE-49, BDE-66, BDE-85, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-138, BDE-153, BDE-154, and BDE-183) were measured and analyzed by GC-MS. The results showed that detectable PBDEs were examined in all air samples, which indicated that these pollutants are widespread in the research areas.