Levels of methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in hen eggs from China

PBDEs are widely used brominated flame retardant, which are increasingly reported in the environment. MeO-PBDEs are structural analogs to PBDEs, and reported as natural products and novel pollutants present in the environment. Concentrations of thirteen PBDEs and eight MeO-PBDEs in a large number of commercial sales of hen eggs representing 15 different regions and household productions of hen eggs representing 2 different regions collected from Hubei province of China were investigated in this study. An effective isotopic dilution GC–MS method was firstly developed to simultaneously determine thirteen PBDEs and eight MeO-PBDEs in hen eggs in this study. Liquid/liquid extraction, concentrated sulfuric acid and multi-layer silica gel column chromatography cleanup were used, some important steps and crucial parameters were modified and intensified compared with other literatures, and GC and MS conditions were optimized. The limits of quantitation values of 0.2–4, 0.8–4 μg kg−1 wet weight in hen eggs were calculated for PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs, respectively. In addition, good repeatability and accuracy of the whole method were achieved. The established methods were therefore suitable for the simultaneous determinations of thirteen PBDEs and eight MeO-PBDEs in hen eggs at trace contamination levels. Using the established methods, PBDEs or MeO-PBDEs emerged in 4 of 40 household productions of hen eggs, and in low-μg kg−1 wet weight for these samples.