Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) in some Ghanaian water body environments

Abstract

Background and Objective: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are known to be possible carcinogens, teratogenic and endocrine disruptors producing neurobehavioral effects, reproductive abnormalities and thyroid disruption in infants. Despite the worldwide growing concern of these toxins, there were very little studies on the presence and health effects of PBDEs on the Ghanaian environment. The objective of study was to look at the levels, fate, assessment of their sources and possible health effects associated with PBDEs in water and sediments along the Western coast of Ghana. Materials and Methods: Water and sediment samples collected from six water bodies along the Central and Western coast of Ghana were extracted using SPE cartridges and Soxhlet for water and sediment samples respectively. Instrumental analysis for PDBEs in extracted samples (n = 46, include solvent blanks) were done using GC-ECD. Data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence level (CL) for triplicates of the water and sediment samples. Results: The mean total PBDE levels in water and sediment samples ranged from 37.2-170.5 and 19.8-70.6 ng kgG1, respectively. These levels indicated that the studied water bodies were polluted with PBDEs and may pose significant health risk to users. Two-way ANOVA conducted at 95% CL showed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the water bodies with respect the PBDE levels and the sediment samples collected. Source assessment conducted using PCA showed two significant sources of BDEs with major source being deposits from deca-BDE formulations for the water and deca- and octa-mix BDE for the sediment samples. Conclusion: Most of these water bodies are being used in one way or the other, hence, the need to clean them