Environmental Chemistry Research Group, Department of Environmental, Water & Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria, South Africa,
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2014 Mar;21(6):4376-86. doi: 10.1007/s11356-013-2312-7. Epub 2013 Dec 10.
In order to determine human exposure to the indoor toxicant, selection of dust fraction and understanding dust particle size distribution in settled indoor dust are very important. This study examined the influence of dust particle size on the concentration of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) congeners, assessed the distribution of dust particle size and characterized the main indoor emission sources of PBDEs. Accordingly, the concentrations of PBDE congeners determined in different indoor dust fractions were found to be relatively higher in the order of dust particle size: 45-106 μm>(<45 μm)>106-150 μm. The finding shows arbitrary selection of dust fractions for exposure determination may result in wrong conclusions. Statistically significant moderate correlation between the concentration of Σ9PBDEs and organic matter content calculated with respect to the total dust mass was also observed (r=0.55, p=0.001). On average, of total dust particle size <250 μm, 93.4 % (m/m%) of dust fractions was associated with less than 150 μm. Furthermore, of skin adherent dust fractions considered (<150 μm), 86 % (v/v%) is in the range of particle size 9.25-104.7 μm. Electronic materials treated with PBDEs were found the main emission sources of PBDE congeners in indoor environment. Based on concentrations of PBDEs determined and mass of indoor dust observed, 150 μm metallic sieve is adequate for human exposure risk assessment. However, research in this area is very limited and more research is required to generalize the fact.
为了确定人类对室内有毒物质的暴露程度，选择灰尘部分并了解沉降室内灰尘中的灰尘颗粒尺寸分布非常重要。本研究考察了灰尘颗粒尺寸对多溴二苯醚（PBDE）同系物浓度的影响，评估了灰尘颗粒尺寸的分布，并确定了 PBDE 的主要室内排放源。因此，在不同室内灰尘部分中确定的 PBDE 同系物浓度的顺序相对较高：45-106μm（<45μm）>106-150μm。研究结果表明，对于暴露测定任意选择灰尘部分可能会导致错误的结论。还观察到Σ9PBDEs 的浓度与相对于总灰尘质量计算的有机物含量之间存在显著的中度相关性（r=0.55，p=0.001）。平均而言，在总灰尘粒径小于 250μm 的情况下，93.4％（m/m％）的灰尘部分与小于 150μm 的粒径有关。此外，考虑到（<150μm）的皮肤附着灰尘部分，86％（v/v％）处于粒径 9.25-104.7μm 的范围内。用 PBDE 处理的电子材料被发现是室内环境中 PBDE 同系物的主要排放源。基于所测定的 PBDE 浓度和所观察到的室内灰尘质量，150μm 的金属筛对于人类暴露风险评估是足够的。然而，该领域的研究非常有限，需要进行更多的研究来概括这一事实。
