Seasonal variation and human exposure assessment of legacy and novel brominated flame retardants in PM2.5 in different microenvironments in Beijing, China

Dou Wang; Pu Wang; Ying Zhu; Ruiqiang Yang; Weiwei Zhang; Julius Matsiko; Wenying Meng; Peijie Zuo; Yingming Li; Qinghua Zhang; Guibin Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.02.049

Seasonal variation and human exposure assessment of legacy and novel brominated flame retardants in PM_2.5 in different microenvironments in Beijing, China

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2019 May 30:173:526-534. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.02.049. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
³ Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China. Electronic address: qhzhang@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 30822607
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.02.049

Abstract

Indoor exposure to legacy and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) may cause potential risks to human health. Studies on seasonal variations of indoor PM_2.5-bound BFRs are scant. This study comprehensively investigated the seasonal variations of PM_2.5-bound polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and NBFRs in various indoor environments (i.e. activity room, dormitory, home and office) and outdoor PM_2.5 in Beijing, China over one year. The levels of PBDE (226 ± 108 pg m^-3) were higher than that of NBFRs (27.0 ± 16.0 pg m^-3) in all indoor environments. Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were the most abundant BFRs. Office showed the highest mean concentrations of Σ₁₅PBDEs (251 ± 125 pg m^-3) and Σ₉NBFRs (33.0 ± 18.0 pg m^-3), which may be related to the higher number density of indoor materials. The concentrations of Σ₉NBFRs and Σ₁₅PBDE in indoor PM_2.5 were found to be significantly higher than those in the corresponding outdoor PM_2.5 (p < 0.05). Two to twenty-fold seasonal variations were observed for levels of PM_2.5-bound BFRs during one year, and indoor concentrations increased slightly during the central-heating period (November 2016-March 2017). Seasonal variations of BFRs could be affected by temperature, relative humidity and concentrations of particle matters. The PM_2.5-bound BFRs concentrations in PM_2.5 were negatively correlated with temperature and relative humidity, while positively correlated with PM_2.5 concentrations (p < 0.05). Atmospheric haze pollution could possibly contribute to higher levels of indoor PM_2.5-bound BFRs. Human daily intake of BFRs via PM_2.5 inhalation showed seasonal differences, and the highest exposure risk occurred in winter. Toddlers were assessed to be more vulnerable to indoor PM_2.5-bound BFRs in all seasons. This study provided the first-hand measurements of seasonal concentrations and human exposure to PM_2.5-bound BFRs in different indoor scenarios in Beijing.

Keywords: Human exposure; Indoor and outdoor PM(2.5); Novel and legacy brominated flame retardants (BFRs); Seasonal variation.

MeSH terms

Adult
Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis*
Beijing
Child
Child, Preschool
Environmental Monitoring
Flame Retardants / analysis*
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / analysis*
Housing
Humans
Infant
Inhalation Exposure / analysis
Particulate Matter / analysis*
Seasons
Young Adult

Substances

Air Pollutants
Flame Retardants
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Particulate Matter