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

Abstract

BackgroundUntil their phase-out between 2005 and 2013, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were added to household products including furniture, rugs, and electronics to meet flammability standards. Replacement brominated flame retardant (BFR) chemicals, including 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5 tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) 2,3,4,5-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), which are components of the Firemaster 550® commercial mixture, are now being used to meet some flammability standards in furniture. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the extent to which mothers and their children living in New York City are exposed to PBDEs, TBB, and TBPH.MethodsWe measured PBDEs, TBB, and TBPH using gas chromatography mass spectrometry in dust (n = 25) and handwipe (n = 11) samples collected between 2012 and 2013 from mothers and children living in New York City. We defined dust as enriched if the proportional distribution for a given BFR exceeded two-thirds of the total BFR content.ResultsWe detected PBDEs and TBPH in 100% of dust and handwipe samples and TBB in 100% of dust samples and 95% of handwipe samples. Dust from approximately two-thirds of households was enriched for either PBDEs (n = 9) or for TBB + TBPH (n = 8). Overall, the median house dust concentration of TBB + TBPH (1318 ng/g dust) was higher than that of ΣPentaBDE (802 ng/g dust) and BDE-209 (1171 ng/g dust). Children generally had higher BFR handwipe concentrations compared to mothers (ΣPentaBDE: 73%, BDE-209: 64%, TBB + TBPH: 55%) and within households, BFR concentrations from paired maternal-child handwipes were highly correlated. Among mothers, we found a significant positive relation between house dust and handwipe BDE-209 and TBB + TBPH concentrations.ConclusionPBDEs, TBB and TBPH are ubiquitous in house dust and handwipes in a sample of mother-child pairs residing in New York City.

Predictors of Urinary Pyrethroid and Organophosphate Compound Concentrations among Healthy Pregnant Women in New York

“…We used two US pregnancy cohorts from the same geographic area and delivery hospitals to examine and compare the predictors of organophosphates and pyrethroids: the Thyroid Disruption and Infant Development (TDID) Study [ 58 ] and the Sibling/Hermanos (S/H) Birth Cohort [ 59 ]. Details regarding these cohorts, as well as their follow-up, are described elsewhere [ 58 , 59 ]. TDID enrolled pregnant women as they presented for prenatal care and followed their offspring through birth and early childhood.…”

“…The participants in the S/H cohort were pregnant women who had previously been enrolled in the Mothers and Newborns Study [ 60 ] and who were invited at the beginning of 2008 to enroll in the Sibling/Hermanos Birth Cohort during their subsequent singleton pregnancy ( n = 121) [ 59 ]. Maternal urine samples from all the S/H cohort participants were collected during the third trimester, and the concentrations of the pesticides were measured.…”

“…The S/H cohort participants were residents of the upper Manhattan and South Bronx areas in New York City [ 59 ]. TDID enrolled healthy pregnant women from various prenatal clinics in different areas of New York City [ 58 ].…”

Flame retardant exposure assessment: findings from a behavioral intervention study

“…We selected 32 mother and child dyads from the previously established Sibling-Hermanos Cohort, which began in 2008, consisting of Dominican and African–American mothers and children from Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. Briefly, these women were enrolled in the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health Mothers and Newborns birth cohort between 1998 and 2006 [43], and when subsequently pregnant with a singleton, they were invited to enroll an additional child in the Sibling-Hermanos cohort, which was followed prospectively [24]. Among participants with children between the ages of 3–6 years between December 2015 and May 2016, we invited women and children from the Sibling-Hermanos Cohort to participate in our intervention study, described in detail below.…”

“…OPFRs are used not only as flame retardants, but also in other applications, such as plastics [23]. Two Alt-BFRs, 2-ethylhexyl-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), components of a commercial mixture known as Firemaster550 (FM 550) [4], which also contains OPFRs, have been repeatedly detected in household dust [15, 24] and at varying levels in human urine (from 27% detection [25] to 77% detection [26]). Dust is believed to be the primary pathway of exposure.…”