Brominated flame retardant concentrations in sera from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) from 2007 to 2009

Abstract

Pooling of surplus serum from individual samples, collected between 2007 and 2009 during Cycle 1 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), was performed to develop a national baseline estimate of brominated flame retardants in Canadians. Serum samples were categorized by sex and distributed by five age groups ranging from 6 to 79years. Nearly 5000 (4583) serum samples were used to form 59 composite pools. Serum pools were created to ensure a high detection frequency of these analytes in serum because low volume samples had previously resulted in non-detectable concentrations. The analytes of interest in these serum pools included 23 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and three hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers (α-, β- and γ-HBCD). PBDEs were observed in all samples tested and total PBDE concentrations ranged from 27ngg(-1) lipid to 130ngg(-1) lipid (geometric mean [GM] 46ngg(-1) lipid). ∑PBDE concentrations were significantly elevated in samples representing the 6-11year old age group (GM 65ngg(-1) lipid) relative to ages above 40years, although no difference in concentration was observed between the sexes. PBDE concentrations in Canadian sera from the general population were higher than reported in Europe and Asia, but a little lower than observed in the US. PBDE 47 was the greatest contributor to ∑PBDE concentrations and the GM concentration for this congener was 22ngg(-1) lipid. The other dominant contributors to ∑PBDE concentrations were in descending order: 153 [GM 9.4ngg(-1) lipid]>99 [GM 4.6ngg(-1) lipid]≅100 [GM 4.1ngg(-1) lipid]>209 [GM 1.1ngg(-1) lipid] and 183 [GM 0.42ngg(-1) lipid]. ∑HBCD was detected in all samples analysed, although most samples were observed at concentrations <1ngg(-1) lipid, similar to global concentrations. α-HBCD was the dominant contributor to ∑HBCD concentrations in Canadians although β- and γ-HBCD were detected in 23% and 35% of the samples, respectively. No differences in ∑HBCD concentration were associated with age or sex. This dataset represents the first national data describing HBCD isomers and some PBDEs (e.g., 183, 209) in Canadians.

Measurements of Selected Brominated Flame Retardants in Nursing Women: Implications for Human Exposure

“…37 Rawn et al recently reported levels of BDE-153 in 59 pooled serum samples collected from 4583 individuals between 2007 and 2009 within the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). 27 The mean and geometric mean of BDE-153 levels in the 20–39 year old age group in CHMS were 12 ng g –1 lw and 11 ng g –1 lw, respectively. In comparison, the mean BDE-153 concentration observed in our study (18 ng g –1 lw) was higher, while the geometric mean (1.9 ng g –1 lw) was lower than that in CHMS.…”

Characterizing the sorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to cotton and polyester fabrics under controlled conditions

“…Although new production of commercial penta-and octa-BDE mixtures came under national and international control starting in 2003 and deca-BDE has also been slated for control (UNEP, 2010(UNEP, , 2013Environment Canada, 2013), PBDEs remain one of the most prevalent classes of flame retardant found indoors (Bradman et al, 2014;Abbasi et al, 2016 inter alia). Many studies have documented widespread human exposure to PBDEs and their putative health effects (e.g., Rawn et al, 2014;Eskenazi et al, 2013;Herbstman et al, 2010). Recently, Abdallah et al (2015) provided evidence for dermal absorption of PBDEs.…”

Hair as a Biomarker of Systemic Exposure to Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers

“…38,41 Statistical Analyses. Data normality was tested on raw or log transformed data using the Shapiro-Wilk test.…”