Soil is a major reservoir and a secondary source of semi-volatile
organic chemicals, while studies on the pollution status of halogenated
flame retardants (
HFRs) in agricultural
soils are limited. In this study, a total of twenty-five chemicals including novel brominated
flame retardants (NBFRs),
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (
PBDEs), and
dechlorane plus (DPs) was analyzed in the agricultural
soils across China to investigate the occurrence, spatial distribution, potential sources, influencing factors and their associated human health risks. The results showed that
BDE-209 (125-130,183 pg/g, dry weight, d.w.) was the most abundant
flame retardant of
PBDEs, followed by
decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) (9.27-22,864 pg/g, d.w.). Meanwhile, the DPs (anti-DP plus syn-DP) were in the range of ND-1229 pg/g (d.w.), and the range of fanti values (the concentration of anti-DP divided by the sum of the concentrations of two isomers) in this study greatly matched those of commercial products, suggesting the effect of proximity to the source region. The higher levels of
HFRs were found in Eastern and Southern regions of China. Spatial distribution implied that e-waste recycling activities and
plastic processing have shown more importance in releasing legacy
flame retardants (FRs) into the environment than the manufacturing process, while all are important for novel FRs. Correlation analysis between influencing factors and
HFRs indicated that the distribution of most
pollutants was more affected by anthropogenic source factors than environmental factors. The results of the principal component analysis demonstrated that deca-BDE and its alternative products were the major contributors to the sources of
HFRs pollution. Human health risks assessment via oral intake and dermal contact pathways presented that the selected
pollutants posed a no-carcinogenic risk to children and adults. It is worth noting that supervision of the disposal process of the NBFRs should be strengthened in the future.