Measurement and human exposure assessment of brominated flame retardants in household products from South China.
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were examined in household products in the Pearl River Delta, South China, including electronic appliances, furniture and upholstery, car interiors, and raw materials for electronics. The concentrations of PBDEs derived from penta-BDE mixture were much lower (<111 ng/g) than those for octa- and deca-BDE commercially derived PBDEs, with maximum values of 15,107 and 1,603,343 ng/g, respectively, in all the household products. Our findings suggest the recycling of old electronic products and their reuse might be also a potential important source of discontinued PBDEs to the environment. DBDPE was found in 20.0% of all the samples, ranging from 311 to 268,230 ng/g. PBDE congener profiles in both the household products and raw materials suggest that some less brominated BDEs in the environment may be derived from the decomposition of higher brominated PBDEs in PBDE-containing products in process of the manufacturing, use and/or recycling. Human exposure to PBDEs from household products via inhalation ranged from 175 to 612 pg/kg bw day, accounting for a small proportion of the total daily exposure via indoor inhalation. Despite the low deleterious risk associated with household products with regard to PBDEs, they are of special concern because of the relatively higher exposures observed for young children and further work is required.
Chen
She-Jun
SJ
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Ma
Yun-Juan
YJ
Wang
Jing
J
Tian
Mi
M
Luo
Xiao-Jun
XJ
Chen
Da
D
Mai
Bi-Xian
BX
D001969:Bromobenzenes / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D002681:China; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D006795:Household Products / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis
D001969:Bromobenzenes; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; C491509:decabromodiphenyl ethane