Contamination of Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) in Human Hair from E-waste Recycling Site in Vietnam

In this study, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in human scalp hair from Vietnam. Levels of PBDEs and HBCDs were significantly higher in hair of e-waste recycling workers in Bui Dau (e-waste recycling site), an e-waste recycling site than those in general residents in Bui Dau, Dong Mai (lead battery recycling site) and Hanoi (urban control site). Additionally, comparable levels of PBDEs in some samples of non-recyclers in Bui Dau to hair of e-waste recycling workers were detected. This suggests that residents in Bui Dau were highly exposed to PBDEs and HBCDs from e-waste recycling operations. Deca-BDE (BDE-209) was the dominant congener in human hair among 26 PBDE congeners quantified in this study. These profiles in human hair observed in this study were relatively similar to those in indoor dust that deca-BDE was the dominant congener, while were entirely different from those in human tissues such as breast milk and adipose tissue. This suggests that PBDEs detected in human hair may be attributed to indoor dust. Thus biomonitoring using human hair is important to understand the status of contamination and to assess the exposure of human to those chemicals through indoor dust.