Alkylphenol ethoxylates and brominated flame retardants in water, fish (carp) and sediment samples from the Vaal River, South Africa

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are known to be bio-accumulative, persistent, and endocrine disruptors and can cause adverse health effects in animals and humans. In this study, environmental samples were collected from sites along the Vaal River, South Africa in order to determine the concentrations of APEs and BFRs in water, sediment, and fish samples. The highest concentrations of these pollutants were observed from discharge of the Rietspruit WWTW. Measurable levels of both APEs and BFRs were observed with APEs exhibiting higher concentrations than BFRs in all the matrices. The concentrations observed for APEs and BFRs were as follows: 1.00–3.85 μg/L APEs, 0.09–0.26 μg/L PBDEs, ND- 0.14 PBBs and 0.51–1.77 μg/L HBCD for water samples; 47–63 ng/g lipid APEs, 3.24–12.4 ng/g lipid PBB, 4.63–33 ng/g lipid PBDEs and 10–13 ng/g lipid HBCD for fish; and 40–184 ng/g (wet weight (ww)) APEs, 2.93–5.9 ng/g (ww) PBB, 10–24 ng/g (ww) PBDEs, and 15–52 ng/g (ww) HBCD for sediment samples. The concentrations of APEs and BFRs in water samples were found to be in the range with the results reported in the literature while the concentration in fish and sediment were lower than the concentrations reported in other studies.