BACKGROUND Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in many household items. Given concerns over their potential adverse health effects, we identified predictors and evaluated temporal changes of PBDE serum concentrations. METHODS PBDE serum concentrations were measured in young children (2-8 years old; N = 67), parents of young children (<55 years old; N = 90), and...

BACKGROUND Animal and in vitro studies demonstrated a neurotoxic potential of brominated flame retardants, a group of chemicals used in many household and commercial products to prevent fire. Although the first reports of detrimental neurobehavioral effects in rodents appeared more than ten years ago, human data are sparse. METHODS As a part of a biomonitoring program for environmental health...

Organic pollutants have been monitored in the atmosphere of the Great Lake Basin (GLB) since the 1990s in support of the Canada-US Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to determine the effectiveness of source reduction measures and factors influencing air concentrations. Air samples were collected between 2005 and 2014 at three sites with different geographical characteristics (Burnt Island,...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) containing two to 10 bromines are ubiquitous in the Arctic, in both abiotic and biotic samples. Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is also ubiquitous in the Arctic, with the gamma-HBCD isomer predominating in air, the alpha-HBCD isomer predominating in biota and similar concentrations of alpha-, beta- and gamma-HBCD found in marine sediments. Other brominated f...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as additive flame retardants. PBDEs are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic compounds. They are often detected in sewage sludge which is applied on agricultural soils as fertilizer. The objective of this study was to find out whether plants are able to accumulate and translocate PBDEs. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and nightshade (Solanum nigrum) ...

24 Fourteen tri-deca polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were investigated in 35 human 25 milk samples from Birmingham, UK. While none of the hepta-nona BDEs (the main 26 components of the OctaBDE technical mixture) were above the limit of quantitation (LOQ); 27 BDE-47 (average concentration = 3.3 ng g lipid weight (lw)) was quantified in all samples 28 contributing 34-74% to Σtri-hexa BDEs ...

Concentrations of PBDEs and PBBs were measured in matched blood and breast milk samples from 10 UK couples collected in 2011-12. These data are the first measurements in human serum from the UK since the 2004 EU ban on all uses of the penta-and octa-BDE formulations and the 2008 ban on the use of the deca-BDE formulation in some applications. Serum ∑PBDE tri-hepta concentrations ranging from 1....

Passive air samples were collected monthly for 6 months from 8 sites along a transect of Birmingham, United Kingdom between June 2012 and January 2013. Soil samples were collected once at each site. Average concentrations of BDE-209, ΣPBDEs17:183 and ΣPBDEs in ambient air were 150, 49, and 180 pg m(-3), respectively. Atmospheric concentrations of PBDEs were negatively correlated with distance f...