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Human Exposure to PBDEs Via House Dust Ingestion in Guangzhou, South China

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Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated the important role played by indoor dust in human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), particularly in children, who spend most of their time indoors. Few data have been available for PBDEs in house dust in China. In this study, dust samples were collected randomly from 46 houses in Guangzhou, South China, for the first time to investigate levels and pattern profiles of PBDEs and to estimate human exposure to PBDEs for adults and toddlers (6 months to 2 years old). Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode, congeners—including BDE28, 47, 66, 85, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183, and 209—were determined. The results show that BDE209 is the predominant congener in house dust, comprising 90.7% to 99.8% (mean 97.4%) of the total concentration. Of ∑tri-hepta BDEs, BDE47, 99, and 183 were the most abundant congeners, with mean contributions of 23.3%, 25.2%, and 21.9%, respectively. The intake of ∑tri-hepta BDEs via dust ingestion was 0.16–3.82 ng/d for adults and 2.1–7.64 ng/d for toddlers, accounting for 0.65% to 13.6% and 18.6% to 45.5%, respectively, of the total (based on data in our previous work) (Chen et al. 2008). With respect to intake of BDE209, the values increased to 11 to 264 ng/d for adults and to 145 to 527 ng/d for toddlers. Risk assessment indicated that PBDEs may possibly affect the health of toddlers in Guangzhou, South China. Further studies are needed to investigate the bioavailability and metabolism of PBDEs in humans to improve risk evaluation.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (No.7300845), the National Science Foundation of China (No.40803035), and Special Scientific Research Funds for Environment Protection Commonweal Section (No.200703). We thank Mei Ding of Los Alamos National Laboratory for help in revising the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Urban Environment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences(SCIES), Ministry of Environmental Protection(MEP), Guangzhou, 510655, China

    Laiguo Chen, Yumei Huang, Zhencheng Xu, Xiaochun Peng & Sukun Zhang

  2. Department of Resources and Environment, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, 610225, China

    Yumei Huang & Zhixiang Ye

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical College, Haikou, 571101, China

    Lijun Wen

  4. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Xiang-Zhou Meng

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  1. Laiguo Chen
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Correspondence to Laiguo Chen or Xiang-Zhou Meng.

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Chen, L., Huang, Y., Xu, Z. et al. Human Exposure to PBDEs Via House Dust Ingestion in Guangzhou, South China. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 60, 556–564 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9564-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9564-8

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