title: Hair as an indicator of endogenous tissue levels of brominated flame retardants in mammals.
abstract: Few data are available on brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in terrestrial mammalian wildlife. Moreover, the use of hair in nondestructive monitoring of BFRs in mammals or humans has not been investigated. In the present study, concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and brominated biphenyl 153 (BB 153) were analyzed in tissues of the European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. Road kills and carcasses from wildlife rescue centers were used to investigate relationships between concentrations of BFRs in hair and internal tissues, BFR tissue distribution (hair, liver, kidney, muscle, and adipose tissue), and PBDE congener tissue pattern dissimilarities. Liver concentrations of PBDEs and BB 153 were in the ranges 1-1178 and 0-2.5 ng/g of liver wet weight, respectively. PBDEs were predominant in adipose tissue and liver, while accumulation of BB 153 was tissue independent. The less persistent compound BDE 99 was more dominant in hair than in internal tissues. We observed positive relationships between BFR levels in hair and internal tissues for sum PBDEs and BDE 47 (0.37 < r < 0.78). The present study demonstrated that hair is a suitable indicator of PBDE exposure in terrestrial mammals which can be used in nondestructive monitoring schemes.
authors.affiliation: Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. helga.dhave@ua.ac.be
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: D'Havé
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covaci
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scheirs
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schepens
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verhagen
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: De Coen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006364:Hedgehogs; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls