Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and novel brominated flame retardants in indoor dust of different microenvironments in Beijing, China

Abstract

The occurrence levels of eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and four novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were determined and compared in indoor dust from different microenvironments (21 homes, 23 offices and 16 day care centers) in Beijing, China. Concentrations of ∑₈PBDEs in dust were 430-17,000 ng/g, 690-8600 ng/g, and 90-2300 ng/g for homes, offices, and day care centers, respectively, and were dominated by BDE-209. Concentrations of ∑₄NBFRs ranged from 310 to 17,000 ng/g, 300 to 4300 ng/g, and not detected to 500 ng/g for homes, offices, and day care centers, respectively, and were dominated by bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP) and decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) across microenvironments. The results showed an increasing detection and elevated concentration of NBFRs (especially BEH-TEBP), indicating that monitoring of NBFRs in dust samples should be of concern in future studies. A notable finding was that the BFR concentrations in dust samples from day care centers were generally one order of magnitude lower than those from homes and offices in the present study. This implies that previous estimates of toddler exposure via dust ingestion on data from homes may be overestimated. Concentrations of BDE-209 and ∑₈PBDEs were found to be significantly higher in elevated surface dust than floor dust from day care centers. The estimates of daily intakes of BFRs via dust ingestion for Chinese adults and toddlers using Monte Carlo analysis were 2-5 orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding reference daily intakes.

Keywords: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs); Day care centers; Elevated surface dust; Floor dust; Human exposure; Toddlers.