Impact of Legislation
on Brominated Flame Retardant
Concentrations in UK Indoor and Outdoor Environments: Evidence for
Declining Indoor Emissions of Some Legacy BFRs
posted on 2024-02-22, 16:04authored byYulong Ma, William A. Stubbings, Jingxi Jin, Reginald Cline-Cole, Mohamed Abou-Elwafa Abdallah, Stuart Harrad
Concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, hexabromocyclododecane
(HBCDD), and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were measured
in indoor dust, indoor air, and outdoor air in Birmingham, UK. Concentrations
of ΣBFRs ranged from 490 to 89,000 ng/g, 46–14,000 pg/m3, and 22–11,000 pg/m3, respectively, in
UK indoor dust, indoor air, and outdoor air. BDE-209 and decabromodiphenyl
ethane (DBDPE) were the main contributors. The maximum concentration
of DBDPE (10,000 pg/m3) in outdoor air is the highest reported
anywhere to date. In contrast with previous studies of outdoor air
in Birmingham, we observed significant correlations between concentrations
of tri- to hepta-BDEs and HBCDD and temperature. This may suggest
that primary emissions from ongoing use of these BFRs have diminished
and that secondary emissions (e.g., evaporation from soil) are now
a potentially major source of these BFRs in outdoor air. Conversely,
the lack of significant correlations between temperature and concentrations
of BDE-209 and DBDPE may indicate that ongoing primary emissions from
indoor sources remain important for these BFRs. Further research to
clarify the relative importance of primary and secondary sources of
BFRs to outdoor air is required. Comparison with earlier studies in
Birmingham reveals significant (p < 0.05) declines
in concentrations of legacy BFRs, but significant increases for NBFRs
over the past decade. While there appear minimal health burdens from
BFR exposure for UK adults, dust ingestion of BDE-209 may pose a significant
risk for UK toddlers.