Impact of Brominated POPs on the Neurodevelopment and Thyroid Hormones of Young Children in an Indoor Environment—A Review

Abstract

The goal of this report is to evaluate brominated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the indoor air and dust to further assess their health effects on thyroid hormones and neurodevelopment in infants, toddlers, and young children. This category of brominated POPs includes polybrmonated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDD/DFs). These organobromines are lipophilic compounds which resist physical and chemical degradation in the environment and biota, and so easily bioaccumulate in adipose tissue. Brominated POPs, particularly in brominated fire retardants (BFRs) such as PBDEs, HBCDs, and PBBs, are ubiquitous in indoor environments due to their inadvertent release from certain consumer products. Some of these organobromines have been recognized in some in-vitro and in-vivo studies to be neurotoxins and disrupt thyroid hormones, although the evidence from actual epidemiological studies is contradicted and inconsistent, especially for infants, toddlers, and young children, who are particularly vulnerable to these substances as they spend most of their time in the home. This report focuses on exposure to PBDEs, HBCDs, PBBs, and PBDD/DFs in the indoor dust and on the indoor aerosol, to explore their association with human health, particularly the disruption of thyroid hormones and neurodevelopment in early childhood.

Experimental Study on PCDD/Fs Adsorption onto Nano-Graphite

“…Apart from their toxicity, PCDD/Fs remain for long periods of time (persistence) in the environment, due to their physical and chemical properties (Zhao et al, 2012), their limited mobility (low vapour pressure and water solubility) and high stability. Moreover, PCDD/Fs accumulate in the food chain through absorption of high fat foods (Chao et al, 2014) of animal or marine origin, threatening ecological safety and human health (Kulkarni et al, 2008). The release of PCDD/Fs today is mainly from municipal or other waste incinerators, chemical manufacturing involving chlorophenols, metal making and reservoir resources.…”

Pollution Characteristics and Diurnal Variations in Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Indoor and Outdoor Air from Vehicle Dismantler Factories in Southern Taiwan

“…These organobromines, including the commercial formulations such as PentaBDEs, OctaBDEs, and DecaBDE, have been banned for use in Europe or voluntarily discontinued in some parts of the USA due to their high resistance to chemical, physical, and biological degradation and because they are ubiquitous in the environment. At the present, DecaBDE technical mixtures are still sold and widely used in most countries, including Taiwan (Chao et al, 2014a). PBDEs with high lipophilicity are easily bioaccumulated in the biota, including terrestrial and aquatic living organisms .…”

“…Diverse contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, BFRs, polybrominated dibenzo-pdioxins/furans, cations, anions, heavy metals, dioxin-like compounds, in the indoor environment were the important source of human exposure (Chao et al, 2014a;Chou et al, 2015;Cheruiyot et al, 2015;Saraga et al, 2015;Shy et al, 2015;Gou et al, 2016). PBDEs are easily released from the surface of consumer products such as household electronic equipment, building materials, upholstered furniture, carpets, computers, textiles, and automobiles (de Wit, 2002).…”

“…PBDEs are easily released from the surface of consumer products such as household electronic equipment, building materials, upholstered furniture, carpets, computers, textiles, and automobiles (de Wit, 2002). Owing to the extensive use by a wide variety of household consumers and people preferring to stay indoors most of the time (more than 90%), indoor environments or microenvironments present a significant contribution of human exposure to PBDEs (de Wit, 2002;Chao et al, 2014a). Indoor air and dust are the possible exposure routes for human exposure to PBDEs in the indoor environment (Chao et al, 2014b;Hsu et al, 2014;Shy et al, 2015;Chou et al, 2016).…”

Characterization of Endocrine Disruptors and Particulate Matter Emissions from Laser Cutting of Plastic Film in the TFT-LCD Industry

“…Indoor exposure to EDs can cause negative impacts, including disruption of thyroid hormone secretion and induction of neurotoxic effects (Chao et al, 2014). These compounds are fat-soluble, stable, and difficult to metabolize and they can accumulate in organisms and become developmental immunotoxicants (Fenaux, 2004).…”