title: Brominated flame retardants in the indoor environment - Comparative study of indoor contamination from three countries.
abstract: Concentrations of more than 20 brominated flame retardants (FRs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and emerging FRs, were measured in air, dust and window wipes from 63 homes in Canada, the Czech Republic and the United States in the spring and summer of 2013. Among the PBDEs, the highest concentrations were generally BDE-209 in all three matrices, followed by Penta-BDEs. Among alternative FRs, EHTBB and BEHTBP were detected at the highest concentrations. DBDPE was also a major alternative FR detected in dust and air. Bromobenzenes were detected at lower levels than PBDEs and other alternative FRs; among the bromobenzenes, HBB and PBEB were the most abundant compounds. In general, FR levels were highest in the US and lowest in the Czech Republic - a geographic trend that reflects the flame retardants' market. No statistically significant differences were detected between bedroom and living room FR concentrations in the same house (n=10), suggesting that sources of FRs are widespread indoors and mixing between rooms. The concentrations of FRs in air, dust, and window film were significantly correlated, especially for PBDEs. We found a significant relationship between the concentrations in dust and window film and in the gas phase for FRs with log KOA values <14, suggesting that equilibrium was reached for these but not compounds with log KOA values >14. This hypothesis was confirmed by a large discrepancy between values predicted using a partitioning model and the measured values for FRs with log KOA values >14.
authors.affiliation: RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, pavilion A29, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venier
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Ondřej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Audy
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Šimon
authors.initials: Š
authors.lastname: Vojta
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Jitka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bečanová
authors.affiliation: RECETOX, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, pavilion A29, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Romanak
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Melymuk
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krátká
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kukučka
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada, M1C 1A4.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Okeme
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada, M1C 1A4.
authors.forename: Amandeep
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, Canada M5S 3B1; Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, Canada, M1C 1A4.
authors.forename: Miriam L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.affiliation: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 702 Walnut Grove Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, United States.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klánová
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001969:Bromobenzenes / Q000032:analysis*; D002170:Canada; D018153:Czech Republic; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis*; D006798:Housing; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001969:Bromobenzenes; D004391:Dust; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
keywords: Air; Brominated flame retardants; Dust; Indoor; Window film