Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations in dust from various indoor environments in Gdansk, Poland: Prediction of concentrations in indoor air and assessment of exposure of adults

Monitoring of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in indoor environments involves the determination of their concentrations in air, airborne particles, and settled dust. Each of these is a source of human exposure to PBDEs. In this study, we attempted to model PBDEs concentrations in various typical indoor environments on the basis of real PBDEs measurements in dust collected from them. The analytical procedure for determining the contents of eight analytes in dust was based on the matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) technique. Based on the results obtained, the concentrations of other components of commercial PBDEs blends in dust were estimated. The obtained model of PBDEs distribution between dust and air was used to estimate the exposure of adults to PBDEs in the studied indoor environments. For each tested environment, the dominant route of exposure was dust ingestion. For congeners with log K-oa > 12, this was practically the only exposure pathway. A comparison between total PBDEs exposure and oral reference dose (RfD) values enabled an assessment of the risks arising from PBDEs exposure. In all of the studied indoor environments, no risk associated with exposure to PBDEs was noted. However, there is still the need for the extension of environmental PBDEs monitoring in Poland.