TY - JOUR

T1 - Total consumer exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers in North America and Europe

AU - Trudel, David

AU - Scheringer, Martin

AU - von Goetz, Natalie

AU - Hungerbühler, Konrad

PY - 2011/3/15

Y1 - 2011/3/15

N2 - Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been widely used as flame retardants in textiles, polyurethane foams, and plastics. PBDEs exert toxic effects in various organisms, including humans, and are ubiquitous in the outdoor and indoor environment. Here we estimate total daily PBDE doses received by consumers in North America and Europe, along with the most important pathways and congeners, and derive PBDE elimination half-lives for chronic exposure. We estimate distributions for all parameters (PBDE concentrations in exposure media, food consumption rates, etc.) and conduct a probabilistic exposure assessment. We find that Americans are exposed the most, likely due to stricter fire regulations, followed by consumers from the UK and Continental Europe. In the central quantiles of the exposure distributions derived, food is the dominant pathway; in the upper quantiles either food or oral and dermal exposure to dust. This reflects the lipophilic and persistent nature of PBDEs and their use in products for indoor-use. Median elimination half-lives are in a range of 1-3 years except for BDE-153 with about seven years and BDE-209 with 4-7 days.

AB - Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been widely used as flame retardants in textiles, polyurethane foams, and plastics. PBDEs exert toxic effects in various organisms, including humans, and are ubiquitous in the outdoor and indoor environment. Here we estimate total daily PBDE doses received by consumers in North America and Europe, along with the most important pathways and congeners, and derive PBDE elimination half-lives for chronic exposure. We estimate distributions for all parameters (PBDE concentrations in exposure media, food consumption rates, etc.) and conduct a probabilistic exposure assessment. We find that Americans are exposed the most, likely due to stricter fire regulations, followed by consumers from the UK and Continental Europe. In the central quantiles of the exposure distributions derived, food is the dominant pathway; in the upper quantiles either food or oral and dermal exposure to dust. This reflects the lipophilic and persistent nature of PBDEs and their use in products for indoor-use. Median elimination half-lives are in a range of 1-3 years except for BDE-153 with about seven years and BDE-209 with 4-7 days.

KW - Chemistry

KW - Adolescent

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Child

KW - Child, Preschool

KW - Diet

KW - Environmental Exposure

KW - Environmental Pollutants

KW - Europe

KW - Flame Retardants

KW - Female

KW - Half-Life

KW - Food Analysis

KW - Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers

KW - Humans

KW - Infant

KW - Infant, Newborn

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - North America

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1021/es1035046

DO - 10.1021/es1035046

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 21348481

VL - 45

SP - 2391

EP - 2397

JO - Environmental Science & Technology

JF - Environmental Science & Technology

SN - 0013-936X

IS - 6

ER -