Hsin-Chieh Kung1,2,7, Yen-Kung Hsieh5,6, Bo-Wun Huang4, Nicholas Kiprotich Cheruiyot This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.2,3, Guo-Ping Chang-Chien This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.1,2,3 1 Institute of Environmental Toxin and Emerging-Contaminant Research, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 833301, Taiwan
2 Center for Environmental Toxin and Emerging-Contaminant Research, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 833301, Taiwan
3 Super Micro Mass Research and Technology Center, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 833301, Taiwan
4 Department of Mechanical and Institute of Mechatronic Engineering, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 833301, Taiwan
5 Department of Environmental Science and Occupational Safety and Health, Tajen University, Pingtung 90703, Taiwan
6 Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center, National Academy of Marine Research, Kaohsiung 806614, Taiwan
7 Department of Tourism and Recreation, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung 833301, Taiwan
Received:
March 28, 2022
Copyright The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are cited.
Revised:
June 7, 2022
Accepted:
June 12, 2022
Download Citation:
||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.220148
Kung, H.C., Hsieh, Y.K., Huang, B.W., Cheruiyot, N.K., Chang-Chien, G.P. (2022). An Overview: Organophosphate Flame Retardants in the Atmosphere. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 22, 220148. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.220148
Cite this article:
Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) have been adopted as safer alternatives to polybrominated biphenyl ether flame retardants. However, because of their ubiquitous presence in the environment and the growing evidence of health risks, there has been growing research interest in understanding the fate and effects of these compounds in the environment. This review focuses on the current knowledge of OPFRs in the atmosphere. There is no consensus on the target OPFR for analysis, making comparisons challenging. However, we can still conclude that OPFRs partition mainly in the particulate phase, and chlorinated-OPFRs are the main compounds in the atmosphere. The general concentration trends from the literature were: PM2.5 > TSP > air. However, the gas-phase OPFRs in the published studies might be significantly underestimated because of sampling artifacts. OPFRs were also found in remote environments in Antarctica, the Arctic, and high mountains, suggesting long-range transport potential. For example, concentrations up to 92.3 ± 13.8 pg m–3 in the air have been measured in the Antarctic. Lastly, atmospheric transformations of some OPFRs have been reported as more toxic and persistent than parent compounds, indicating additional risk. However, they are currently not measured or included during risk assessment.HIGHLIGHTS
ABSTRACT
Keywords:
Atmospheric particle-bound contaminants, Emerging contaminants, Organophosphate esters, PM2.5, Long-range transport
