Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardants and Plasticizers in the Indoor Environment:  Analytical Methodology and Occurrence

Abstract

Nine organophosphate esters, which are commercially used as plasticizers and/or flame retardants, were identified and quantified in air samples from some common indoor work environments, i.e., an office building, a day care center, and three school buildings. One of the compounds was identified as tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, a substance that has been shown to be a neurotoxic and genotoxic agent. The concentration levels of this substance were found to be as high as 250 ng/m 3 . In order to examine whether the organophosphates were transferred from the outdoor air, the occurrence of organophosphates in outdoor ambient air was investigated. The levels of the individual compounds in the outdoor air samples were found to be less than 1 ng/m 3 , which indicates that the main sources of organophosphates in indoor air were located indoors. A comparison between the studied indoor environments showed large differences in the concentration profiles of the nine identified compounds. This was most probably due to the large variation in indoor materials, furniture, and equipment between the different indoor work environments. A method for sampling and analysis is described and evaluated. Samples were collected by pumping air through filter and polyurethane foam plugs. At a low sampling rate, 3 L/min, the organophosphates were strongly associated with the filter, by polar interactions either directly to the filter or to the particulate phase adsorbed on the filter. Ultrasonication was shown to be a fast and efficient extraction method for all of the organophosphates studied.

Evaluation of two passive samplers for the analysis of organophosphate esters in the ambient air

“…The result is comparable with Moller's study that a mean particulate percentage of 86 725% was detected for total atmospheric organophosphate compounds in the North Sea [30]. Also, in the study sampling indoor air at two different flow rates using a personal active sampler, 499% of all the organophosphates were distributed on the filters, with less than 1% found in the PUFs [7].…”

“…Nevertheless, increasing awareness has been focused on the chemicals due to their usage as alternative FRs for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) [5]. The global demands of OPEs are expected to increase and the resulting more production and emissions into the environment may cause reemerging concern [6,7]. An overview discussed the environmental levels of FRs in several monitoring studies [8], indicating that total OPE concentrations generally exceeded those of PBDEs in indoor air environment, and the human exposure potentials caused by OPE contamination appeared to be higher.…”

Distribution of organophosphorus flame retardants in sediments from the Pearl River Delta in South China

“…As most PFRs are added to and mixed with, rather than chemically bound to the materials (van der Veen and de Boer, 2012), leaching could occur throughout the lifetime (Marklund et al, 2003) of these products. Reports have indicated that PFRs were ubiquitous in various environmental media, such as water (Chung and Ding, 2009;Bacaloni et al, 2008), air (Carlsson et al, 1997;Saito et al, 2007), dust (He et al, 2015;Stapleton et al, 2009), sediment Ricking et al, 2003), soil (Mihajlovic et al, 2011), and biota samples (Kim et al, 2011;Sundkvist et al, 2010). Furthermore, some of the harmful effects of PFRs on human health cannot be ignored.…”

Multiple bio-analytical methods to reveal possible molecular mechanisms of developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryos/larvae exposed to tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate

“…Environmental monitoring has demonstrated that TBEP is frequently found in indoor air, house dust, soil, snow, surface water, wastewater, wildlife and human milk (Bacaloni et al, 2007;Campone et al, 2010;Carlsson et al, 1997;Chen et al, 2012;Dodson et al, 2012;Kim et al, 2011;Mäkinen et al, 2009;Marklund et al, 2005;Mihajlović and Fries, 2012;Möller et al, 2012;Sundkvist et al, 2010). For example, in water samples from Albano lake in Italy, TBEP concentrations ranged from 10 to 127 ng/L (Bacaloni et al, 2007).…”