Temporal trends of decabromodiphenyl ether and emerging brominated flame retardants in dust, air and window surfaces of newly built low‐energy preschools

Abstract

The envelope of low‐energy buildings is generally constructed with significant amounts of plastics, sealants and insulation materials that are known to contain various chemical additives to improve specific functionalities. A commonly used group of additives are flame retardants to prevent the spread of fire. In this study, decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE‐209) and fourteen emerging brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were analyzed in indoor dust, air and on the window surface of newly built low‐energy preschools to study their occurrence and distribution. BDE‐209 and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were frequently detected in the indoor dust (BDE‐209: <4.1‐1200 ng/g, DBDPE: <2.2‐420 ng/g) and on window surfaces (BDE‐209: <1000‐20 000 pg/m2, DBDPE: <34‐5900 pg/m2) while the other thirteen BFRs were found in low levels (dust: <0.0020‐5.2 ng/g, window surface: 0.0078‐35 pg/m2). In addition, the detection frequencies of BFRs in the indoor air were low in all preschools. Interestingly, the dust levels of BDE‐209 and DBDPE were found to be lower in the environmentally certified low‐energy preschools, which could be attributed to stricter requirements on the chemical content in building materials and products. However, an increase of some BFR levels in dust was observed which could imply continuous emissions or introduction of new sources.

Concentrations of Brominated Flame Retardants in Indoor Air and Dust from Ireland Reveal Elevated Exposure to Decabromodiphenyl Ethane

“…Highest median concentrations were detected in schools (10,000 ng/g), followed by cars (7,700 ng/g), offices (6,100 ng/g) and homes (4,200 ng/g). Concentration data exceed markedly those reported for similar microenvironments across Europe, China and Australia [45][46][47][48] .…”

“…Median DBDPE concentrations reported for Irish cars also exceed those in Greece 54 , while those in Irish offices exceed those in Australia 48 . Moreover, median concentrations in Irish schools exceed those recently reported for low energy Swedish preschools (300 times higher) 55 and preschools in Stockholm (100 times higher) 46 . In agreement with other international studies, BDE-209 was the most abundant PBDE congener detected across all microenvironments 28,32,33 , contributing to >99% of SPBDEs for homes, cars and schools, and 98% in offices.…”

“…Median DBDPE concentrations reported for Irish cars also exceed those in Greece, while those in Irish offices exceed those in Australia . Moreover, median concentrations in Irish schools exceed those recently reported for low energy Swedish preschools (300 times higher) and preschools in Stockholm (100 times higher) …”

The effect of reduction measures on concentrations of hazardous semivolatile organic compounds in indoor air and dust of Swedish preschools

“…A Swedish study showed that concentrations of several groups of hazardous chemicals in preschool dust decreased between 2 and 60% after implementation of the article substitution action in preschools 45 . OPEs and selected BFRs decreased in air and dust in preschools built with approved building materials, compared to a preschool constructed using conventional materials 39,42 . The present study is in agreement with these published intervention studies, and it is the first study that focused on comparing different measures to phase out several groups of hazardous SVOCs from the preschools’ indoor environment.…”

“…In Sweden, a few studies have similarly found phthalates and alternative plasticizers, 37,38 OPEs 39 PBDEs, HBCD and in some cases, new BFRs 40–42 as well as bisphenols 38 in air and/or dust in preschools.…”