An Investigation of Homes with High Concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, and/or Dioxin-Like PCBs in House Dust

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

Metayer

Buffler

et al. 2011

Residential dust has been used as a medium for assessing human exposures to a constellation of indoor contaminants including radionuclides, persistent organic pollutants, metals, allergens, and tobacco smoke. Here, we review and comment on investigations of household dust levels of particular analytes of health significance, namely polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In doing so, we not only describe methods for collecting and analyzing residential dust, but also describe global patterns in dust levels. Aside from geographic location, we discuss several potential determinants for dust levels of these contaminants. We also review previous estimates of the contribution of dust to overall intake of these three chemical classes and show how residential-dust measurements could be useful in either augmenting or replacing questionnaire-based assessment of human exposures in epidemiological studies. We conclude our review with a discussion of the current gaps in knowledge of worldwide dust levels and suggestions for how residential-dust measurements could be used to describe human exposures to chemicals in developing countries.

Section: Determinants Of Pcb Levels In Residential Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating exposures to indoor contaminants using residential dust

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

Metayer

Buffler

et al. 2011

“…Most of these households (47 of 89) also reported carpeting between sampling rounds. Investigators have demonstrated that carpet pads 19 and wood floor finishes 5 can be residential PCB sources. Moreover, it has been suggested that semivolatile organic compounds tend to partition to non-mobile household surfaces, such as carpet pads 18 and concentrations of PCBs in dust have been correlated with floor and carpet age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Residential Dust: Sources of Variability

Brown

Metayer

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

We characterized the variability in concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) measured in residential dust. Vacuum cleaner samples were collected from 289 homes in the California Childhood Leukemia Study during two sampling rounds from 2001 to 2010 and 15 PCBs were measured by high resolution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Median concentrations of the most abundant PCBs (i.e., PCBs 28, 52, 101, 105, 118, 138, 153, and 180) ranged from 1.0–5.8 ng per g of dust in the first sampling round and from 0.8–3.4 ng/g in the second sampling round. For each of these eight PCBs, we used a random-effects model to apportion total variation into regional variability (6–11%), intra-regional between-home variability (27–56%), within-home variability over time (18–52%), and within-sample variability (9–16%). In mixed-effects models, differences in PCB concentrations between homes were explained by home age, with older homes having higher PCB levels. Differences in PCB concentrations within homes were explained by decreasing time trends. Estimated half-lives ranged from 5–18 years, indicating that PCBs are removed very slowly from the indoor environment. Our findings suggest that it may be feasible to use residential dust for retrospective assessment of PCB exposures in studies of children’s health.

“…3, 13 However, investigators have had less success using questionnaires or interviews to identify common sources of PCBs that determine concentrations of PCBs in typical households. 14, 15 Self-reported or interview-conducted inventories of household items that may contain PCBs lack specificity, because PCBs have been used inconsistently in consumer goods and construction materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of polychlorinated biphenyls in dust from homes in California, USA

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

Ward

Colt

et al. 2013

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) production ceased in the U.S. over 30 years ago, but these persistent chemicals remain ubiquitous contaminants. Here, we evaluate potential determinants of PCB levels in dust from California homes including characteristics of the residence as well as the residents’ habits and occupations. Dust was collected from 415 households as part of a large case-control study (the Northern California Childhood Leukaemia Study), using a high-volume small surface sampler. Dust concentrations of 6 PCBs (PCB-105, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153, PCB-170, and PCB-180) were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Individual PCB detection rates ranged from 9% to 54% with PCB concentrations ranging from below detection (1 or 2 ng/g) to 270 ng/g and PCB loadings ranging from below detection to 960 ng/m2. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to identify potential determinants of residential PCB contamination based on in-home interviews and residential geographic locations. We observed that residences built prior to 1980 had higher odds of PCB detection and higher PCB loadings than more recently constructed homes. Households where residents typically did not remove their shoes had higher PCB dust loadings than households where residents did. PCBs were less likely to be detected in carpet dust from households that had frequently vacuumed or replaced carpets compared to other households. Since we used a cross-sectional dust sampling protocol and report significant, but modest, effects of these determinants on levels of PCBs in residential dust, our results should be interpreted with caution. Longitudinal studies to determine optimal strategies for reducing PCBs in homes are warranted.