Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations and resulting exposure in homes in California: relationships among passive air, surface wipe and dust concentrations, and temporal variability

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in furniture foam, electronics, and other home furnishings. A field study was conducted that enrolled 139 households from California, which has had more stringent flame retardant requirements than other countries and areas. The study collected passive air, floor and indoor window surface wipes, and dust samples (investigator collected using an HVS3 and vacuum cleaner) in each home. PentaBDE and BDE209 were detected in the majority of the dust samples and many floor wipe samples, but the detection in air and window wipe samples was relatively low. Concentrations of each PBDE congener in different indoor environmental media were moderately correlated, with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.42 and 0.68. Correlation coefficients with blood levels were up to 0.65 and varied between environmental media and age group. Both investigator-collected dust and floor wipes were correlated with serum levels for a wide range of congeners. These two sample types also had a relatively high fraction of samples with adequate mass for reliable quantification. In 42 homes, PBDE levels measured in the same environmental media in the same home 1 year apart were statistically correlated (correlation coefficients: 0.57–0.90), with the exception of BDE209 which was not well correlated longitudinally.

Indoor Level of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Home Environment and Assessment of Human Health Risks

“…In all the age groups, approximately 90% of exposure to PBDEs was non-dietary from house dust and BDE-209 was major. According to previous studies (Zhang et al, 2011;Bennett et al, 2014;Bradman et al, 2014;Król et al, 2014), PBDE levels in indoor air are weakly or slightly correlated with those in indoor dust. Although we cannot show correlations and the significances of differences in PBDE levels between house dust and indoor air in the present study, indoor air and dust levels of PBDEs can be used to evaluate daily intakes of non-dietary PBDEs for different age groups.…”

“…Compared to their levels in other microenvironments listed in Table 2, PBDE levels in the houses or apartments (except Vietnamese houses near backyard e-waste recycling sites) were lower. Although several studies did not detect BDE-209 Zhang et al, 2011;Watkins et al, 2013;Bennett et al, 2014), BDE-209 was at least compositing of 50% in the environmental samples and human specimens (Chao et al, 2014a). BDE-209 was the predominant BDE congener in indoor air of various microenvironments except Korean elementary schools where the concentration of airborne BDE-47 was highest among 8 airborne BDE congeners (Lim et al, 2014).…”

“…Table 2 shows airborne PBDE concentrations in residential houses, apartments, offices, daycare centers, cars, public facilities, and schools according to currently published and the present data. The levels of airborne PBDEs in residences are lower in Taiwan than in Sweden , Vietnam (in houses near backyard electronic (e)-waste recycling sites; Tue et al, 2013), Korea (Lim et al, 2014), and the United States (Allen et al, 2007;Bennett et al, 2014), and slightly higher in Taiwan than Japan (Takigami et al, 2009), United Kingdom , Sweden (in apartments; Thuresson et al, 2012), Vietnam (in houses in suburban and rural areas; Tue et al, 2013), and Australia (Toms et al, 2009). Compared to their levels in other microenvironments listed in Table 2, PBDE levels in the houses or apartments (except Vietnamese houses near backyard e-waste recycling sites) were lower.…”

“…The primary sources of human exposure to PBDEs appear to be dietary, dust, air, handwipes, handkerchiefs, and direct skin contact. Bennett's (Bennett et al, 2014) and Lim's (Lim et al, 2014) studies found that PBDE levels in indoor dust are significantly correlated with levels in other environmental media. House dust is convenient to collect, easy to collect in large amounts, and PBDEs level in house dust is well correlated with that in other indoor media.…”

Estimating indoor semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) associated with settled dust by an integrated kinetic model accounting for aerosol dynamics

“…Some studies 140 simultaneously measured airborne concentrations of SVOCs (C s +C sp ) and X dust (Bradman et al, 2007; 141 Bradman, 2009;Batterman et al, 2009;Morgan et al, 2004;Kanazawa et al, 2010). One study measured 142 C sp and X dust (Fromme et al, 2004), and others measured C s and X dust (Wilford et al, 2004;Wilford et al, 143 2005;Gevao et al, 2007;Harrad et al, 2009;Imm et al, 2009;Shoeib et al, 2005; 144 Toms et al, 2009;Tue et al, 2013;Bennett et al, 2014 condition. In this section, the indoor source strength of particle was set at zero.…”