Concentrations and trends of halogenated flame retardants in the pooled serum of residents of Laizhou Bay, China

Abstract

The south coast of Laizhou Bay, in northeastern China, is a production area for halogenated flame retardants (HFR). In 2007, the authors measured serum concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Laizhou Bay residents. To assess the PBDE concentration trend, and determine the concentrations of the emerging flame retardants Dechlorane Plus (DP) and bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), the authors measured the concentrations of 8 PBDE congeners, 2 DP isomers, and TBPH in 10 composite samples, which were pooled from the serum collected from 305 Laizhou Bay residents in October 2011. The average concentration of the total PBDE (∑8 PBDE) concentration in all serum pools was 240 ng/g lipid weight, and the highest serum pool concentration (in the 30- to 39-yr-old male group) was 780 ng/g lipid weight. Brominated diphenyl ether-209 was the dominant congener, accounting for 87% of ∑8 PBDE. Compared with a previous study, ∑8 PBDE serum concentrations in the present study showed no change in order of magnitude, but the relative contribution of BDE-209 to ∑8 PBDE was higher. The average concentration of ∑DP in all serum pools was 3.6 ng/g lipid weight, ranging from 1.4 ng/g lipid weight (in the 50- to 59-yr-old male group) to 11 ng/g lipid weight (in the 20- to 29-yr-old male group). The concentration of DP was lower than in other reported studies. The study also detected TBPH in the 30- to 39-yr-old female group, suggesting that TBPH, as an emerging HFR, requires further monitoring.

Temporal Evaluation of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Serum Levels in Middle-Aged and Older California Women, 2011–2015

“…10,14 In particular, declining trends seem to be more apparent for the lower-brominated congeners with some reports of stable or even increasing trends for the higher brominated BDE-153 and BDE-209 congeners. 38–40 In our study, however, we did not see distinctly different temporal patterns for BDE-153 compared to those of the lower brominated compounds nor did we see any temporal shifts in congener profiles.…”

Disposition of the emerging brominated flame retardant, bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate, in female Sprague Dawley rats: effects of dose, route and repeated administration

“…As a consequence of this application, BEH-TEBP is a contaminant in household and office dust (Ali et al, 2012, Ali et al, 2011a, Ali et al, 2011b, Fromme et al, 2014, Hoffman et al, 2014, Peng et al, 2015, Sahlstrom et al, 2012, Schreder and La Guardia, 2014). BEH-TEBP has been detected in human serum and breast milk (Zhou et al, 2014, He et al, 2013). BEH-TEBP is also an environmental pollutant, outdoor dust and sediment, and wildlife (Klosterhaus et al, 2012).…”

Structurally-diverse, PPARγ-activating environmental toxicants induce adipogenesis and suppress osteogenesis in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells

“…TBBPA is a component of the mass produced brominated flame retardants (over 150,000 tons annually (de Wit et al, 2010)), is detectable in home and office dust samples (Ali et al, 2011; D'Hollander et al, 2010), and in human breast milk and serum (at levels as high as 649 ng/g lipid weight) (Cariou et al, 2008). Di-(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate, a component of Firemaster ® 550, has been found at ppm levels in house dust and at 260 ng/g lipid weight in humans (He et al, 2013), and its metabolite METBP is capable of increasing lipid accumulation as well as activating expression of the PPARγ gene target fatty acid binding protein 4 (Fabp4) in NIH 3T3-L1 cells (Springer et al, 2012). …”