Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative ?ame retardants (NFRs) in indoor and outdoor air and indoor dust from Istanbul-Turkey: Levels and an assessment of human exposure

Abstract

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and novel brominated ?ame retardants (NFRs) were measured in ambient outdoor air, indoor air and indoor dust collected in homes and of?ces at urban, semi-urban and rural locations in Istanbul, Turkey. Indoor air levels of S12PBDEs in homes and of?ces ranged from 36 to 730 pg/m3 and 160 to 10 100 pg/m3, respectively, while levels of S12NFRs ranged from 180 to 7600 pg/m3 and 180 to 42 400 pg/m3, respectively. Outdoor air levels ranged from 110 to 620 pg/ m3 for S12PBDEs and 750 to 2800 pg/m3 for S12NFRs. I/O ratios that are greater than 1 suggest that air concentrations detected in indoor environments are mainly from indoor sources. Indoor dust levels in homes and of?ces of S12PBDEs ranged from 400 to 12 500 ng/g and 330 to 32 200 ng/g respectively and levels of S12NFRs ranged from 320 to 31 400 ng/g and 910 to 97 900 ng/g, respectively. The I/O ratios >1 for PBDEs and NFRs may indicate that emissions of these chemicals detected in homes and of?ces are mainly from indoor sources. Due to childrens' frequent hand-to-mouth behaviour, lower body weight and increased dust ingestion rate compared to adults, exposure rates to target chemicals for children were greater than those of adults. Based on median concentrations of chemicals of interest in dust and air samples from Istanbul, we estimate that exposure rates of children to PBDEs and NFRs are up to 160 times higher compared to adults but none of the estimated exposure rates results for children or adults were than the recommended daily oral reference dose values of certain analytes.