Brominated Flame Retardants in Serum from the General Population in Northern China

Abstract

In 2006, 128 serum samples were collected from three populations in Tianjin, China: office cleaners, university students, and policemen. These samples were all analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and for other brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The median concentration of total PBDEs (sum of 41 congeners) was 7.1 ng/g lipid, ranging from 0.48 to 1980 ng/g lipid. Among these PBDE congeners, the median sum of the tri- to hepta-PBDE (SigmaPBDE3-7) congener concentrations was 2.9 ng/g lipid, ranging from 0.48 to 20 ng/g lipid. The most common tri- to heptabrominated congeners were BDE-47 (30% of total), BDE-99 (24%), BDE-183 (15%), BDE-153 (12%), BDE-28 (9.5%), and BDE-100 (6.2%). These levels of SigmaPBDE3-7 were similar to those observed in Europe and Asia but were much lower than those observed in North America. Highly brominated BDE congeners were detected in some serum samples. In particular, BDE-209 was detected in 28 samples; the median BDE-209 concentration in these samples was 42 ng/g lipid, ranging from ND to 1770 ng/g lipid. The total PBDE levels in office cleaners were significantly higher than in university students and policemen. In addition, we also measured several other BFRs. Hexabromobenzene (HBB) was identified in 26 samples with a median concentration of 0.27 ng/g lipid, ranging from 0.11 to 1.50 ng/g lipid. Pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), and decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) were not detected in any of these samples.

Levels and sources of brominated flame retardants in human hair from urban, e-waste, and rural areas in South China

“…4. The PBDE pattern in the hair from the nonoccupationally exposed residents in different areas (rural, urban, and the e-waste) in this study were similar to those in human serum samples from general population in China (Zhu et al, 2009), suggesting that endogenous exposure might be a major source for the human hair PBDEs. Moreover, as shown in the Fig.…”

“…It is worth to compare the PBDE profiles in the hair with the serum samples reported by other previous studies (Antignac et al, 2009;Bi et al, 2007;Harrad and Porter, 2007;Kalantzi et al, 2010;Sjödin et al, 2008;Zhu et al, 2009). Due to the sets of congeners reported in different studies are not identical each other, we could only summed the most commonly reported congeners (BDE 47,99,100,153,154 and 183) and normalized them to 100%.…”

Airborne polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PBDD/Fs), and dechlorane plus (DP) in concentrated vehicle parking areas

“…This is reasonable because in China, deca-BDEs are produced and used in large quantities, penta-BDEs were once extensively produced but banned in 2006, and octa-BDEs have never been produced or used in China (Chen et al 2012). Zhu et al (2009) used a similar method to estimate the contribution of the three PBDE products and then speculated the possible transformation of PBDE congeners according to the deviations between their predicted and measured data. In our study, the average predicted percentages for BDE-209 in the studied areas (80.12, 77.88, 88.28, and 92.51 %) only show deviations <0.15 % away from the corresponding measured data (80.26, 77.93, 88.29, and 92.63 %).…”

Uptake, translocation and biotransformation kinetics of BDE-47, 6-OH-BDE-47 and 6-MeO-BDE-47 in maize (Zea mays L.)

“…Based on the knowledge of their adverse effects on the environment and human health, some PBDEs have been included on the Stockholm Convention list of priority persistent organic pollutants, and some technical products have been banned or voluntarily withdrawn from use in some regions of the world (California State Assembly, 2003;Cox and Efthymiou, 2003). However, owing to their high volume production, long-term use, and lipophilic and persistent properties, PBDEs are still frequently detected in various environmental media (Kim et al, 2014;Newton et al, 2015) and biotic samples (Shang et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2014;Zhu et al, 2009) in the environment. Therefore, there is considerable concern about their behaviors and fates in the environment.…”