Article pubs.acs.org/est
European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) Suggest That Landfills Are an Important Source of Bioaccumulative Flame Retardants to Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystems Da Chen,†,‡,¶,◆ Pamela Martin,*,§ Neil M. Burgess,∥ Louise Champoux,⊥ John E. Elliott,∇ Douglas J. Forsyth,○ Abde Idrissi,† and Robert J. Letcher*,†,‡ †
Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3, Canada ‡ Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada ◆ Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, U.S.A. § Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario L7R 4A6, Canada ∥ Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador A1N 4T3, Canada ⊥ Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, Québec City, Québec G1J 0C3, Canada ∇ Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Delta, British Columbia V4K 3Y3, Canada ○ Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X4, Canada S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: Landfills are used as the primary means for the disposal of municipal solid waste in Canada. In the present study, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and other flame retardants (FRs) were determined in fresh European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) eggs collected in 2009, 2010, and 2011 from nest boxes established within, adjacent to, and 10 and 40 km distant to five major urban centers across Canada, i.e., Vancouver, British Columbia (BC); Calgary, Alberta (AB); Hamilton, Ontario (ON); Montréal, Québec (QC); and Halifax, Nova Scotia (NS). Nest boxes were located in several land use types: urban industrial areas (districts of industrial activity within city limits), landfill sites (adjacent to cities), and rural (agricultural) sites located 10 and 40 km distant from the major urban centers, as well as a national reference site. Of the 14 PBDE congeners and 16 non-PBDE FR substances determined in the starling eggs, BDE-17, -28, -47, -49, -66, -85, -99, -100, -138, -153, -154, -183, and -209, Dechlorane Plus isomers (anti and syn), and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (BEHTBP) were most frequently quantifiable. The data revealed orders of magnitude greater PBDE concentrations in eggs from starlings nesting in landfill sites (median: 28−280 ng/g wet weight) relative to those from urban industrial and rural environments. However, the percent fractional composition of the PBDE congener patterns did not vary significantly between the types of land uses or between years. Additionally, the median ∑PBDE concentration in eggs from landfill sites and the human population density of the metropolitan region that the landfill serves were highly correlated (r2 = 0.998, p < 0.001). As the first transcontinental effort in assessing FR contamination in Canadian terrestrial ecosystems, the present study strongly suggest that landfills are an important FR source to starlings nesting nearby and that other terrestrial organisms could also be similarly exposed.
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INTRODUCTION
bioaccumulative, and toxic (PB&T) potentials of some congeners, as well as the overall large production volumes in past years.2,3 Studies reveal that PBDEs are now globally dispersed.2,4,5 As a result, the penta- and octa-PBDE mixtures
Flame retardants (FRs), including the brominated variety (BFRs), are commonly added to thermoplastics, thermosets, textiles, and coatings to reduce their flammability.1 As many FRs are not chemically bound to the finished products, a fraction may escape throughout the life cycles (i.e., production, use, disposal, and recycling) of the finished products. Of the BFRs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have generated the greatest concern to date, due to the persistent, © 2013 American Chemical Society
Received: Revised: Accepted: Published: 12238
July 30, 2013 September 18, 2013 September 23, 2013 September 23, 2013 dx.doi.org/10.1021/es403383e | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 12238−12247
12239
Nova Scotia
Québec
Ontario
landfill industrial 40 km landfill industrial 10 km 40 km national reference landfill landfill landfill industrial 10 km 40 km landfill industrial 10 km 40 km landfill industrial 40 km
category of the sitea 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2009/2010/2011 2010/2011 2009/2010/2011
collection year 26 8 12 13 5 15 15 11 9 15 12 8 15 15 5 8 20 10 15 6 16
N 4.4 3.9 4.0 3.7 4.3 4.0 4.6 4.3 3.7 4.4 3.9 4.3 4.3 4.8 4.6 4.5 4.1 4.4 4.1 5.2 4.4
lipid % 280 (25−533) 17 (4.9−77) 6.7 (2.4−69) 67 (40−212) 102 (95−135) 44 (20−95) 30 (4.4−93) 13 (12−15) 67 (11−200) 30 (19−74) 28 (16−50) 38 (8.5−68) 10 (1.9−24) 6.9 (2.8−110) 260 (22−342) 15 (5.7−146) 15 (3.3−488) 12 (2.7−23) 275 (83−805) 29 (7.8−65) 13 (2−375)
∑PBDE 0.6 (
