Contamination status, emission sources, and human health risk of brominated flame retardants in urban indoor dust from Hanoi, Vietnam: the replacement of legacy polybrominated diphenyl ether mixtures by alternative formulations

This study investigated the occurrence, distribution of several additive brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and some novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in urban indoor dust collected from ten inner districts of Hanoi, Vietnam to assess the contamination status, emission sources, as well as their associated human exposure through indoor dust ingestion and health risks. Total concentrations of PBDEs and NBFRs in indoor dust samples ranged from 43 to 480 ng g−1 (median 170 ng g−1) and from 56 to 2200 ng g−1 (median 180 ng g−1), respectively. The most abundant PBDE congener in these dust samples was BDE-209 with concentrations ranging from 29 to 360 ng g−1, accounting for 62.6–86.5% of total PBDE levels. Among the NBFRs analyzed, decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) was the predominant compound with a mean contribution of 98.6% total NBFR amounts. Significant concentrations of DBDPE were detected in all dust samples (median 180 ng g−1, range 54–2200 ng g−1), due to DBDPE as a substitute for deca-BDE. Other NBFRs such as 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) and 2,2’,4,4’,5,5’-hexabromobiphenyl (BB-153) were found at very low levels. Based on the measured BFR concentrations, daily intake doses (IDs) of PBDEs and NBFRs via dust ingestion at exposure scenarios using the median and 95th percentile levels for both adults and children were calculated for risk assessment. The results showed that the daily exposure doses via dust ingestion of all compounds, even in the high-exposure scenarios were also lower than their reference dose (RfD) values. The lifetime cancer risks (LTCR) were much lower than the threshold level (10−6), which indicated the acceptable health risks resulting from indoor BFRs exposure for urban residents in Hanoi.