Spatial Distribution of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Southern Ontario As Measured in Indoor and Outdoor Window Organic Films

Abstract

Organic films were collected from indoor and outdoor window surfaces, along an urban-rural transect extending northward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and analyzed for 41 polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners (PBDE). For exterior films, urban sigmaPBDE concentrations were approximately 10x greater than rural concentrations, indicating an urban-rural gradient and greater PBDE sources in urban areas. Urban films ranged from 2.5 to 14.5 ng/m2 (mean = 9.0 ng/ m2), excluding the regional "hotspot" Electronics Recycling Facility, compared to 1.1 and 0.56 ng/m2 at the Suburban and Rural sites. Interior urban films (mean = 34.4 ng/m2) were 3 times greater than rural films (10.3 ng/m2) and were representative of variations in building characteristics. Indoor films were 1.5-20 times greater than outdoor films, consistent with indoor sources of PBDEs and enhanced degradation in outdoor films. Congener profiles were dominated by BDE-209 (51.1%), consistent with deca-BDE as the main source mixture, followed by congeners from the penta-BDE mixture (BDE-99:13.6% and -47:9.4%) and some octa-BDE (BDE-183:1.5%). Congener patterns suggest a degradative loss of lower brominated compounds in outdoor films versus indoor films. Gas-phase air concentrations were back-calculated from film concentrations using the film-air partition coefficient (K(FA)). Mean calculated air concentrations were 4.8 pg/m3 for outdoor and 42.1 pg/m3 for indoor urban sites, indicating that urban indoor air is a source of PBDEs to urban outdoor air and the outdoor regional environment.

Distribution and congener profiles of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in indoor/outdoor glass window surface films and their film-air partitioning in Beijing, China

“…However, if a few exceptionally high values (i.e., S5, S7, S9 and S10) were not included in the comparison, we found that the interior SCCPs levels were significantly higher (p = 0.02) than the corresponding exterior side. This is quite different from other observations for PAHs (Butt et al, 2004;Unger and Gustafsson, 2008), which implies that indoor exposure might be an important pathway of SCCPs to the general population in the sampling area. We grouped the 19 sites into three categories outdoor >> indoor, indoor ≈ outdoor and indoor >> outdoor, among them S7 and S9 outdoor >> indoor, S15, S18 and S19 indoor >> outdoor, the others are indoor ≈ outdoor Fig.…”

“…Usually, the organic carbon concentration in organic films is consistent with the concentrations of SVOCs (Unger and Gustafsson, 2008). In this study, the TOC contents in the organic films on the indoor window surfaces ranged from 3.68 mg/m 2 to 172 mg/m 2 (GM: 13.1 mg/m 2 ), and the corresponding contents on the outdoor window surfaces were in the range of 0.37 mg/m 2 -95 mg/m 2 (GM: 15 mg/m 2 ), which is higher than the values previously measured on window surfaces in Guangzhou and Hong Kong (Butt et al, 2004). Significant linear relationships were found between the TOC normalized SCCPs on the interior side and exterior side with TOC content (R = 0.41, p = 0.01 and R = 0.51, p = 0.01, respectively), which implies that organic matter is a main factor that influences the SCCP concentrations in organic films.…”

“…The deposition of SVOCs and wash-off make organic films both a sink and source for various pollutants. A wide range of chemicals have been found in the surface films, including POPs (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) (Pan et al, 2012;Wu et al, 2008;Li et al, 2010;Butt et al, 2004;Unger and Gustafsson, 2008), heavy metals (e.g., Hg Ag Cr) (Li et al, 2010;Liu et al, 2003a,b), and biogenic chemicals (e.g., polar organic compounds) (Lam et al, 2005;Liu et al, 2003a,b;Fridén et al, 2011).…”

Composition, Distribution, and Characterization of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Sandstorm Depositions in Beijing, China

“…A significant correlation existed between the RPBDEs and minimum particle sizes (r = 0.80, p \ 0.05). This indicated that the RPBDEs were associated with the particle size distribution and that they were removed through the scavenging of particulates (Butt et al 2004). Furthermore, Beijing, as mentioned above, was relatively highly contaminated by BDE-209, suggesting that PBDEs are strongly associated with the degree of urbanization (Stapleton et al 2005).…”

Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of occupational exposure to flame retardants at four gymnastics studios.

“…We also noted if there was a ventilation system in offices and gymnastics area and if they were separated from each other. Sampling was similar to that described by Butt et al [2004]. Four sterile gauze pads were presoaked with approximately 12 mL of 99% isopropyl alcohol …”