title: Atmospheric occurrence and gas-particle partitioning of PBDEs at industrial, urban and suburban sites of Thessaloniki, northern Greece: Implications for human health.
abstract: Air samples were collected during the cold and the warm period of the year 2012 and 2013 at three sites in the major Thessaloniki area, northern Greece (urban-industrial, urban-traffic and urban-background) in order to evaluate the occurrence, profiles, seasonal variation and gas/particle partitioning of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The mean total concentrations of particle phase ∑12PBDE in the cold season were 28.7, 19.5 and 3.87 pg m(-3) at the industrial, urban-traffic and urban-background site, respectively, dropping slightly in the warm season (23.7, 17.5 and 3.14 pg m(-3)), respectively. The corresponding levels of gas-phase ∑12PBDE were 14.4, 7.15 and 4.73 pg m(-3) in the cold season and 21.2, 11.1 and 6.27 pg m(-3) in the warm season, respectively. In all samples, BDE-47 and BDE-99 were the dominant congeners. Absorption of PBDEs in the organic matter of particles appeared to drive their gas/particle partitioning, particularly in the cold season. The estimated average outdoor workday inhalation exposure to ∑12PBDE in the cold and the warm period followed the order: industrial site (288 and 299 pg day(-1)) > urban-traffic site (178 and 191 pg day(-1)) > urban-background site (58 and 63 pg day(-1)). The exposures to BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153 and ∑3PBDE via inhalation, for children outdoor worker and seniors were several orders of magnitude lower than their corresponding oral RfD values.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Besis
authors.affiliation: Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Voutsa
authors.affiliation: Environmental Pollution Control Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address: csamara@chem.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Constantini
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Samara
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006115:Greece; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: C477694:2,2',4,4',5-brominated diphenyl ether; D000393:Air Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
keywords: Gas phase; Human exposure; Intake; Particulate phase; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Seasonal variation