Dust from U.K. primary school classrooms and daycare centers: the significance of dust as a pathway of exposure of young U.K. children to brominated flame retardants and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP-A), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in floor dust from U.K. child daycare center and primary school classrooms (n = 43, 36 for PCBs). Concentrations of HBCDs exceeded significantly (p < 0.05) those reported previously for U.K. houses and offices, while those of TBBP-A exceeded significantly those in U.K. cars and offices. PCB concentrations were statistically indistinguishable from those in U.K. house dust but lower than in U.S. classroom dust, while BDEs 47, 99, 100, 153, 196, 197, 203, and 209 in classrooms were significantly below concentrations in U.K. cars. Exposure of young U.K. children via classroom dust exceeds that of U.K. adults via office dust for all contaminants monitored. Overall dust exposure of young U.K. children was estimated including car, classroom, and house dust. Exposure to TBBP-A was well below a U.K. health-based limit value (HBLV). Though no HBLVs exist for non-dioxin-like PCBs and HBCDs; dust exposure to PCBs fell well below U.K. dietary and inhalation exposure. Contrastingly, a high-end estimate of HBCD dust exposure exceeded U.K. dietary exposure substantially. Moreover, high-end estimates of dust exposure to BDE-99 and BDE-209 (4.3 and 13000 ng/kg bw/day, respectively) exceeded HBLVs of 0.23-0.30 and 7000 ng/kg bw/day respectively.
Harrad
Stuart
S
Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, Public Health Building, School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. s.j.harrad@bham.ac.uk
Goosey
Emma
E
Desborough
Jennifer
J
Abdallah
Mohamed Abou-Elwafa
MA
Roosens
Laurence
L
Covaci
Adrian
A
D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D004391:Dust; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity*; D012574:Schools; D006113:United Kingdom
D004391:Dust; D005411:Flame Retardants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls