Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Maternal Serum, Breast Milk, Umbilical Cord Serum, and House Dust in a South Korean Birth Panel of Mother-Neonate Pairs.

Mi-Yeon Shin,Sooran Choi,Jeong Lee,Jeongim Park,Gyuyeon Choi,Su Kim,Sunggyu Lee,Hyo-Bang Moon,Sungjoo Kim,Kyungho Choi,Hai-Joong Kim,Sungkyoon Kim

doi:10.3390/ijerph13080767

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants. Although many reports have indicated an association between exposure to PBDEs and developmental neurotoxicity, the relative contributions of different sources of dust PBDE congeners to the levels in various tissues of mother–baby pairs is not well understood. The aims of this study were thus to measure the quantitative relationship between the level of PBDEs in house dust and tissues of mother-neonate pairs, and to investigate the chemical sources of the PBDEs. Forty-one mother-neonate pairs were recruited and provided samples of maternal serum (n = 29), umbilical cord serum (n = 25), breast milk (n = 50), and house dust (n = 41), where PBDEs were determined with high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. While deca- (e.g., BDE 209, detected 100%), nona- (BDE 206/207, 95.1%), octa- (BDE 183, 100%), penta- (BDE 99/153, 100%, 98%) and tetra-BDEs (BDE 47, 100%) were detected abundantly in dust, penta- (BDE 99, 76%, 92%) and tetra-BDEs (BDE 47, 84%, 98%) were detected abundantly in umbilical cord serum and breast milk, respectively; tetra-BDEs (BDE 47, 86%) were detected more often relative to other congeners in maternal serum. Spearman’s pairwise comparison showed that the levels of BDE 47 (ρ = 0.52, p < 0.001) and −99 (ρ = 0.64, p < 0.01) in umbilical cord serum were associated with BDE 209 levels in dust; BDE 47 in maternal serum also showed correlation with BDE 99 in cord serum (ρ = 0.48, p < 0.01) but there was no significant correlation between maternal BDE 47 and dust BDE 209. On the other hand, a comparison of the distribution among congeners suggested probable associations of BDE 47 in maternal serum, breast milk, and umbilical cord serum with BDE 209 in dust; and of BDE 99 in maternal and umbilical cord serum, breast milk, and dust with BDE 209 in dust. Although further studies are needed, a radar chart-based distributional comparison among congeners supported associations between BDE 47 or −99 in human tissues and BDE 209 in dust.

Highlights

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of synthetic organic chemicals with 209 congeners, have been widely used as chemical flame retardants for several decades
PBDEs, they have been found in many biota specimens as persistent pollutants, and are regarded as endocrine disruptors [3,4,5,6]
2011) in the present study, we considered that the PBDE levels in house dust would not have been affected by sampling time or season

Summary

Introduction

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of synthetic organic chemicals with 209 congeners, have been widely used as chemical flame retardants for several decades. Three commercial PBDE formulations have been produced: pentabromodiphenyl ethers (penta-BDEs), octabromodiphenyl ethers (octa-BDEs) and decabromodiphenyl ethers (deca-BDEs), but deca-BDEs was reported to comprise 82% of the PBDE present in electronic products, electrical appliances and automotive industry products globally [1]. While octa-BDEs has been added to plastics for electronic equipment, in recent decades penta-BDEs has been used in cushions and mattresses along with polyurethane [2]. Significant associations of prenatal exposure to PBDEs with poorer attention and executive function were investigated [16]. Owing to growing concerns about PBDEs exposure, penta- and octa-BDEs containing products have been banned or voluntarily phased out in Europe and the U.S.; the use of deca-BDEs and the recycling of PBDE products are still allowed in those countries including South Korea [17]

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