Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and alternative flame retardants (NFRs) in indoor and outdoor air and indoor dust from Istanbul-Turkey: Levels and an assessment of human exposure

Levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and novel brominated flame retardants (NFRs) were measured in ambient outdoor air, indoor air and indoor dust collected in homes and offices at urban, semi-urban and rural locations in Istanbul, Turkey. Indoor air levels of Sigma 12PBDEs in homes and offices ranged from 36 to 730 pg/m(3) and 160 to 10 100 pg/m(3), respectively, while levels of Sigma(12)NFRs ranged from 180 to 7600 pg/m(3) and 180 to 42 400 pg/m(3), respectively. Outdoor air levels ranged from 110 to 620 pg/m(3) for Sigma 12PBDEs and 750 to 2800 pg/m(3) for Sigma(12)NFRs. I/O ratios that are greater than 1 suggest that air concentrations detected in indoor environments are mainly from indoor sources. Indoor dust levels in homes and offices of Sigma 12PBDEs ranged from 400 to 12 500 ng/g and 330 to 32 200 ng/g respectively and levels of Sigma(12)NFRs ranged from 320 to 31 400 ng/g and 910 to 97 900 ng/g, respectively. The I/O ratios >1 for PBDEs and NFRs may indicate that emissions of these chemicals detected in homes and offices are mainly from indoor sources. Due to childrens' frequent hand-to-mouth behaviour, lower body weight and increased dust ingestion rate compared to adults, exposure rates to target chemicals for children were greater than those of adults. Based on median concentrations of chemicals of interest in dust and air samples from Istanbul, we estimate that exposure rates of children to PBDEs and NFRs are up to 160 times higher compared to adults but none of the estimated exposure rates results for children or adults were than the recommended daily oral reference dose values of certain analytes. (C) 2017 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.