Distribution pattern of legacy and “novel” brominated flame retardants in different particle size fractions of indoor dust in Birmingham, United Kingdom

Abstract

This study investigates the particle size distribution of eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and five "novel" brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in settled house dust. Elevated surface dust (ESD) and floor dust (FD) were collected from 5 homes in Birmingham, UK, yielding a total of 10 samples. Each sample was fractionated into three different particle sizes: 125-250 μm (P1), 63-125 μm (P2) and 25-63 μm (P3). Non-fractionated bulk dust samples (BD) were also analysed. BDE-209 predominated, comprising an average 74.3%, 77.3%, 69.2%, and 62.7% ΣBFRs of BD, P1, P2 and P3 respectively. Σ5NBFRs contributed 24.2%, 21.5%, 29.0% and 35.3% ΣBFRs, while Σ7tri-hepta-BDEs represented 1.5%, 1.2%, 1.7%, and 2.0% ΣBFRs. BEH-TEBP was the predominant NBFR contributing 76.9%, 75.1%, 83.1%, and 83.9% ΣNBFRs in BD, P1, P2 and P3 respectively; followed by DBDPE which contributed 20.1%, 21.9%, 14.1% and 13.9% ΣNBFRs. EH-TBB, BTBPE and PBEB were the least abundant NBFRs. Concentrations of Σ7tri-hepta-BDEs and BEH-TEBP in P3 exceeded significantly (P < 0.05) those in P2, with those in P2 exceeding significantly those in P1. In contrast, no significant differences were found between concentrations of BDE-209, EH-TBB, BTBPE, and DBDPE in different particle size fractions. Concentrations of Σ7tri-hepta-BDEs, BDE-209, and BEH-TEBP in ESD exceeded significantly those in FD (P < 0.05). Normalising BFR concentrations to organic carbon content, did not alter these findings. This suggests that differences in BFR concentrations between different particle size fractions are caused by variations in particle surface area to volume ratio, rather than by variations in organic carbon content.

Levels of Non-PBDE Halogenated Fire Retardants and Brominated Dioxins and their Toxicological Effects in Indoor Environments - A Review

“…Living rooms from the United Kingdom were shown to exhibit higher levels of NBFRs compared to kitchens, with DBDPE having the highest concentrations in both areas (Kuang et al, 2016). However, in another UK study, BEH-TEBP exhibited the highest concentrations in house dusts (Al-Omran and Harrad, 2016). Similar results were obtained in a German study, where BEH-TEBP was the dominant NBFR in house dusts (Fromme et al, 2014).…”

“…This study also showed similarity in f anti ratios between hair and dust suggesting that dust ingestion might be one of the major pathways for human exposure to DP (Zheng et al, 2010). According to a Pakistani study by Khan et al (2016), DP levels were heavily present indoors but not outdoors, and high correlations were observed Peng et al, 2017Peng et al, 2017Peng et al, 2017Peng et al, 2017Kurt-Karakus et al, 2017Kurt-Karakus et al, 2017Kurt-Karakus et al, 2017Kurt-Karakus et al, 2017Kurt-Karakus et al, 2017Al-Omran et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Khan et al, 2016Fan et al, 2016Fan et al, 2016 Sum of all DPs, including syn-and anti-DP. Cars (n = 9) House (n=81) House (n = 10) Elementary school (n =18) E-waste recycling (n = 9) E-waste recyclin...…”

“…In Canadian house dusts, lower levels of EH-TBB and BTBPE were obtained compared to American house dusts, with EH-TBB present in higher concentrations than BTBPE (Fan et al, 2016). In European countries, dust samples from various indoor environments were investigated for NBFR contamination (Cequier et al, 2014;Fromme et al, 2014;Al-Omran and Harrad, 2016;Cristale et al, 2016;Kuang et al, 2016). Living rooms from the United Kingdom were shown to exhibit higher levels of NBFRs compared to kitchens, with DBDPE having the highest concentrations in both areas (Kuang et al, 2016).…”

Prevalence of historical and replacement brominated flame retardant chemicals in New York City homes

“…These patterns suggest that while the indoor environment shared by mothers and their children may be an important source of BFR exposure, age-specific behaviors may contribute to differences in exposure pathways within the home. Studies have shown that the distribution of house dust particles size varies by the spatial positioning of the settled dust [ 18 , 19 ] and that concentrations of PentaBDE congeners, but not BDE-209 or TBB, vary by dust particle size, with higher concentrations typically detected in smaller size fractions [ 20 ]. These properties may partially explain our lack of a significant association between ΣPentaBDE measured in house dust and on handwipes, as dust on surfaces and handwipes may be characterized by different dust particle size distributions.…”

First insight into human extrahepatic metabolism of flame retardants: Biotransformation of EH-TBB and Firemaster-550 components by human skin subcellular fractions

“…Similar to other emerging FRs, the environmental occurrence of EH-TBB and FM550 components is expected to be mainly in indoor dust. Residential dust in the UK contained median concentrations of EH-TBB and BEH-TEBP at 4 -23 (median = 5.8) and 80 -3187 (median = 320) ng/g, respectively (Al-Omran and Harrad, 2016). In the U.S.A., house dust samples from California collected in 2011 showed higher levels of FM550 components than those collected in 2006.…”