Wilford Bryony H, Shoeib Mahiba, Harner Tom, Zhu Jiping, Jones Kevin C
Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Environ Sci Technol. 2005 Sep 15;39(18):7027-35. doi: 10.1021/es050759g.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used as additive flame retardants in plastics, soft furnishings, electrical and electronic equipment, and insulation in the indoor environment, and may be released indoors via volatilization or as dusts. The penta-and octa-brominated mixes are now banned in most parts of Europe, and phasing out of their use has recently begun in North America. This study follows a previous investigation into indoor air levels of PBDEs. House dust was analyzed from the family vacuum cleaners of 68 of the same 74 randomly selected homes, in Ottawa, Canada during the winter of 2002-2003. PBDEs, comprising on average 42% BDE-209, were found in all samples. The levels were log-normally distributed with a geometric mean sigmaPBDE of 2000 ng g(-1), and a median of 1800 ng g(-1) dust. The levels in dust did not correlate with questionnaire information on house characteristics. Correlations were found between pentamix congener levels in dust and in air from the same homes, but not for congeners of the more highly brominated mixes. Exposure scenarios are presented for mean and high dust ingestion rates, and compared against exposures from other pathways, for both adults and toddlers (6 months-2 years). Assuming a mean dust ingestion rate and median dust and air concentrations, adults would be exposed to ca. 7.5 ng sigmaPBDE d(-1) via the dust ingestion pathway, which represents approximately 14% of total daily exposure when compared to diet (82%) and inhalation (4%). However, for toddlers the equivalent intakes would be 99 ng d(-1), representing 80% of their daily PBDE exposure. At high dust ingestion rates these values increase to 180 ng d(-1) (80% daily intake) for adults and 360 ng d(-1) (89% daily intake) for toddlers. The data give a clearer picture of sources of PBDE exposure in the home environment and suggest that dust could be a significant exposure pathway for some individuals, particularly children.
多溴二苯醚（PBDEs）作为添加型阻燃剂被广泛应用于塑料、软家具、电气和电子设备以及室内环境中的绝缘材料中，并且可能通过挥发或粉尘形式在室内释放。五溴和八溴混合物目前在欧洲大部分地区已被禁止使用，北美地区也已开始逐步淘汰它们的使用。本研究是在之前对室内空气中PBDEs水平的调查基础上进行的。2002 - 2003年冬季，在加拿大渥太华，从随机选取的74户家庭中的68户家庭的家用吸尘器中采集了房屋灰尘样本并进行分析。在所有样本中均检测到了PBDEs，其中平均42%为BDE - 209。这些水平呈对数正态分布，几何平均σPBDE为2000 ng g⁻¹，灰尘中位数为1800 ng g⁻¹。灰尘中的PBDEs水平与关于房屋特征的问卷调查信息无关。在同一家庭的灰尘和空气中，五溴混合物同系物水平之间存在相关性，但对于溴化程度更高的混合物的同系物则不存在相关性。针对平均和高灰尘摄入率给出了暴露情景，并与成人和幼儿（6个月至2岁）通过其他途径的暴露情况进行了比较。假设平均灰尘摄入率以及灰尘和空气的中位数浓度，成人通过灰尘摄入途径每天将接触约7.5 ng σPBDE，与饮食（82%）和吸入（4%）相比，这约占每日总暴露量的14%。然而，对于幼儿，相应的摄入量将为99 ng d⁻¹，占其每日PBDE暴露量的80%。在高灰尘摄入率下，成人的这些值增加到180 ng d⁻¹（每日摄入量的80%），幼儿为360 ng d⁻¹（每日摄入量的89%）。这些数据更清晰地呈现了家庭环境中PBDEs的暴露来源，并表明灰尘可能是某些个体，特别是儿童的重要暴露途径。
