Relationships between estimated flame retardant emissions and levels in indoor air and house dust

Abstract

A significant number of consumer goods and building materials can act as emission sources of flame retardants (FRs) in the indoor environment. We investigate the relationship between the emission source strength and the levels of 19 brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and seven organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in air and dust collected in 38 indoor microenvironments in Norway. We use modeling methods to back-calculate emission rates from indoor air and dust measurements and identify possible indications of an emission-to-dust pathway. Experimentally based emission estimates provide a satisfactory indication of the relative emission strength of indoor sources. Modeling results indicate an up to two orders of magnitude enhanced emission strength for OPFRs (median emission rates of 0.083 and 0.41 μg h for air-based and dust-based estimates) compared to BFRs (0.52 and 0.37 ng h median emission rates). A consistent emission-to-dust signal, defined as higher dust-based than air-based emission estimates, was identified for four of the seven OPFRs, but only for one of the 19 BFRs. It is concluded, however, that uncertainty in model input parameters could potentially lead to the false identification of an emission-to-dust signal.

Occurrence and human exposure assessment of organophosphate flame retardants in indoor dust from various microenvironments of the Rhine/Main region, Germany

“…Therefore, the high contribution of TBOEP suggests frequent use of floor polish/wax to protect floors in schools and daycare centers in Germany. The high contribution of TCIPP in building material markets reflects a considerable TCIPP release from abrasion/deterioration of building insulation materials or evaporation of PUF followed by readsorption on dust particles . TCIPP is mainly (over 80%) used as a flame retardant in rigid PUF used for building insulation, yielding area‐specific emission rates of TCIPP from PUF of 50 to 140 μg/m 2 /h .…”

Brominated Flame Retardants and Organophosphate Esters in Preschool Dust and Children’s Hand Wipes

“…Children spend the majority of their time in indoor environments, such as homes, preschools, schools and sport halls. Chemicals present in building materials and consumer products, such as furnishing, electronic devices and textiles, can be released into these indoor environments [3], where children are exposed via dust and air. Children's higher intake of dust and air makes them particularly vulnerable for these exposures.…”

Textile Washing Conveys SVOCs from Indoors to Outdoors: Application and Evaluation of a Residential Multimedia Model

“…The optimization approach developed in this study may be useful for estimating such emissions in the absence of data on specific emission sources. Moreover, this approach is applicable to a wider variety of modeling scenarios than previous approaches that relied on analytical solutions. , These scenarios can include overdetermined systems, as illustrated here, and models for which analytical solutions are not feasible …”

“…Next, each home’s aggregate emission rate for each of the 14 SVOCs was estimated from the concentration measured in either one of the two sampled media (air or dust). A similar estimation was done by Liagkouridis et al and Zhang et al , Here, measured SVOC concentrations from PUF passive air samplers were assumed to correspond to predicted concentrations in the bulk indoor air compartment of the model. For the dust data, the corresponding model compartment (hard floor or carpet) was identified from the sampled floor type reported by participants.…”