Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Flame Retardants in the U.S. Population: Current Levels, Temporal Trends, and Comparison With Dioxins, Dibenzofurans, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Abstract

Brominated flame retardants have come into common use in the United States during the past 3 decades. This study reports levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants in blood from the U.S. population at the present time and 30 years previously and also current human milk levels. This is also the first study to report measured congeners and dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs) of dioxins, dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from archived, 1973, blood and compare them with current levels. The findings indicate there have been significant changes in levels of each class of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in U.S. human blood. Although dioxin, dibenzofuran, and PCB levels are markedly higher in the 1973 blood, the opposite is true for PBDEs. Furthermore, unlike dioxins, dibenzofurans, and PCBs, which increase with age, there was no significant correlation found in our study between PBDE levels and age. Current total PBDE levels in U.S. blood are the highest reported worldwide to date, with 2 pooled samples (N = 100 each) measuring 61.7 and 79.7 parts per billion (ppb) lipid, and in a series of 39 individual analyses, the range was 4.6 to 365.5 ppb with a median of 29 ppb and a mean of 52.6 ppb. The median for women in this study was 43.3 ppb, and for men it was 25.1 ppb. Although women have a higher level of PBDEs in blood than men, in our study, this is not statistically significant. Blood levels are similar to levels in U.S. human milk from 59 women, 6.2 to 418.8 ppb lipid. Levels of PBDE in pooled 2003 serum are far higher at 61.7 ppb than in 1973 archived pooled serum in which almost no PBDEs were quantified, although the estimated level using half the detection limit for nondetects was 0.77 ppb. Although no human health studies have been conducted on PBDEs, they are of concern because in vivo and in vitro animal studies show nervous system, reproductive, developmental, and endocrine effects, as well as cancer in high-dose studies.

Aluminum Dialkyl Phosphinate Flame Retardants and Their Hydrolysates: Analytical Method and Occurrence in Soil and Sediment Samples from a Manufacturing Site

“…The supernatant and precipitate were digested using a CEM Mars 5 Xpress (Matthews, NC) with a microwave-assisted digestion procedure modified from the U.S. EPA method 3052 (see details in the Supporting Information (SI)), respectively. The Al content in the two digestion solutions was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS, Agilent 7700 Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) with Al standard solutions prepared by diluting a certified reference material (10 mg/L Al, Environmental Calibration Standard, UL ISO 9001, Agilent Technologies) with 5% (v/v) HNO 3 .…”

Developmental neurotoxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants

“…However, in contrast to PCBs and other chlorinated compounds, whose levels in biota have been decreasing in the past three decades, levels of PBDEs have significantly increased . PBDEs have also been detected in human adipose tissue, serum and breast milk Sjodin et al 2004;Schecter et al 2005a;Furst, 2006). Five tetra-, penta-and hexa-BDE congeners (BDE-47, −99, −100, −153, −154) predominate in human tissues, usually accounting for 90% of the total body burden (McDonald, 2005).…”

“…Five tetra-, penta-and hexa-BDE congeners (BDE-47, −99, −100, −153, −154) predominate in human tissues, usually accounting for 90% of the total body burden (McDonald, 2005). Still widely used decaBDEs (such as are also found in the environment (Law et al 2006;Chen et al 2007), where they can be broken down to the lower brominated congeners commonly found in humans (Soderstrom et al 2004;WDEH, 2006); BDE-209 has been detected in some samples of human milk, and in certain foods (Vieth et al 2004;Schecter et al 2005a;Gomara et al 2006).…”

“…PBDEs are chemically similar to the long banned polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and like PCBs, they are persistent organic pollutants, bioaccumulate in the environment and biomagnify up the food chain Birnbaum and Staskal, 2004;She et al 2004;Schecter et al 2005a;Law et al 2006). There are 209 possible types of PBDE congeners, numbered using the same system as the PCBs.…”

Scientific contestations over “toxic trespass”: health and regulatory implications of chemical biomonitoring

“…Environmental health and justice organizations along with academic scientists have mobilized biomonitoring data to shed light on the extent of chemical exposures, with a particular emphasis on hazards posed to vulnerable populations such as newborns, pregnant women, and farmworkers (Schafer 2004;Environmental Working Group 2005). These Badvocacy biomonitoring^studies aim to inform the public about pervasive exposures to synthetic chemicals, increase corporate accountability in production decisions (Scruggs et al 2014), and ultimately seek to influence state and national chemical policies to be more protective of public health (Morello-Frosch et al 2009).…”