A simplified analytical procedure for simultaneous determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates and brominated flame retardants in fish tissue samples from Vaal River, South Africa.

Abstract

In this study, the concentration of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were determined in fish samples, Labeo umbratus and Carp, collected from the Vaal River in South Africa. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction technique was used to extract the organic contaminants from fish samples, and the resulting extract was purified by sulphuric acid lipid removal followed by Strata X-cartridge SPE clean-up. The APEs and BFRs were derivatized using heptafluorobutyric anhydride before analysis with GC-MS. In both types of fish samples, lower oligomers of APEs were more abundant than the higher oligomers, while HBCD, BDE99 and PBB101 were the dominant BFRs. The concentrations of these pollutants ranged from 1.061 ng/g lipids (t-BP) in Labeo umbratus to 11.860 ng/g lipids (HBCD) in Carp.