Evaluation of the oral bioaccessibility of legacy and emerging brominated flame retardants in indoor dust

Indoor dust is the main source of human exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs). In this study, in vitro colon-extended physiologically-based extraction test (CE-PBET) with Tenax as a sorptive sink was applied to evaluate the oral bioaccessibility of twenty-two polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and seven novel BFRs (NBFRs) via indoor dust ingestion. The mean bioaccessibilities of two NBFRs pentabromotoluene (PBT) and 1,2-Bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE) were first proposed, reaching 36.0% and 26.7%, respectively. In order to maintain homeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract, 0.4 g Tenax was added in CE-PEBT, which increased BFRs bioaccessibility by up to a factor of 1.4–1.9. The highest bioaccessibility of legacy PBDEs was tri-BDEs (73.3%), while 2-ethylhexyl-tetrabromo-benzoate (EHTBB), one of penta-BDE alternatives, showed the highest (62.2%) among NBFRs. The influence of food nutrients, liquid to solid (L/S) ratio, and octanol–water partition coefficient (Kow) on bioaccessibility was assessed. The oral bioaccessibility of BFRs increased with existence of protein or carbohydrate while lipid did the opposite. The bioaccessibilities of PBDEs and NBFRs were relatively higher with 200:1 L/S ratio. PBDEs bioaccessibility generally decreased with increasing LogKow. No significant correlation was observed between NBFRs bioaccessibility and LogKow. This study comprehensively evaluated the bioaccessibilities of legacy and emerging BFRs via dust ingestion using Tenax-assisted CE-PBET, and highlighted the significance to fully consider potential influencing factors on BFRs bioaccessibility in further human exposure estimation.