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It has been demonstrated that human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) might be associated with several adverse health effects. Dietary and microenvironmental sources are considered to be the main routes of PBDEs exposure. The study aimed to investigate PBDEs in residential indoor and outdoor air and further to assess the health risks in family members of different ages. Indoor and outdoor air samples from houses in residential areas were simultaneously collected for analysis of 99, 100, 153, 154, 183, 196, 197, 203, 206, 207, 208, and 209 by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry. PBDE concentrations were non-significantly higher indoors (81.1 pg/m 3 ) than outdoors (42.7 pg/m 3 ) (p = 0.513). For the outdoor air, the mean PBDE level was lower in air outside houses than in air from industrial and urban areas. Levels of Σ 14 PBDEs and BDE-209 in house indoor air were no higher in Taiwan than other countries. The daily intake of non-dietary PBDEs from house air and dust in Taiwan was highest in the toddlers (1-2 years old; 8.22 ng/kg b.w./day) and lowest in the male adults (≥ 20 years old; 0.562 ng/kg b.w./day) among family members. For Taiwanese, the risks of non-cancer (hazard quotient: HQ) and cancer (cancer risk: R) with neurobehavioral effects of exposure to non-dietary PBDEs in the home environment were assessed to be lower than the critical values of 1.00 and 1.00 × 10 -6 for HQs and Rs, respectively. In conclusion, levels of indoor PBDEs and non-dietary daily intake were found to be low in home environments in Taiwan. This result suggests that PBDEs in the home environment are not harmful to family members from the newborn to the elderly if we only consider the neurobehavioral effects.

This study investigated the concentrations and congener profiles of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in intake source water (source water) and tap drinking water (tap water) of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). In order to have a better understanding on the influence of atmospheric PCDD/F deposition on drinking water, PCDD/Fs in the ambient air of a DWTP (DWTP-LN) were measured and both dry and wet deposition on the water treatment facilities were assessed. The results of this study indicated that the mean PCDD/F concentration in tap water (0.0039 pg WHO-TEQ/L) was found to be approximately 55% of magnitude less than that in source water (0.0086 pg WHO-TEQ/L). In addition, the total deposition flux (dry + wet) of PCDD/Fs entering the DWTP-LN was 27.0 ng I-TEQ/m 2 -year, and wet and dry deposition contributed approximately 12.0% and 88%, respectively. It reveals that dry deposition is more important than wet deposition of PCDD/Fs in the ambient air of DWTP-LN. Atmospheric deposition of PCDD/Fs will increase the level in source water of DWTP-LN up to 8.91 × 10 -3 pg I-TEQ/L, which is approximately 92% of the PCDD/Fs in source water. If a removal efficiency of 87% is achieved by conventional treatment processes including coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and rapid sand filtration, the water after treatment may increase 1.16 × 10 -3 pg I-TEQ/L, which is approximately 43% of the concentration level in tap water. These results indicate that in the DWTP-LN, the influence of atmospheric deposition of PCDD/Fs on the drinking water is of great significance, and water treatment facility with a cover is suggested.