Abstract

Atmospheric concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of industrial chemicals widely used as flame retardants were measured over the Indian Ocean and represent the first comprehensive data of atmospheric contaminations of PBDEs over the open ocean. Air back trajectory analysis shows that PBDEs have great potential for long-range atmospheric transport to remote regions of the world. In this report, we show that PBDE concentrations (mean 2.5 pg/m3) over the open Indian Ocean are in a similar range to those reported for remote land-based locations in the more industrialized northern hemisphere. Concentrations along the coastline of Java, Indonesia, were as high as 15 pg/m3. Overall, data suggests that PBDEs are now ubiquitous in their global atmospheric distribution.