Occurrence of brominated flame retardants in household and car dust from the Czech Republic

The levels and profiles of 16 polybrominated diphenyl ethers congeners (PBDEs), three isomers of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and other six “alternative” brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in dust collected in 25 Czech households and 27 car interiors were investigated. The Σ16 PBDEs contents varied widely with maximum concentrations reaching up to 5896 and 33728 μg/kg in house and car dust, respectively. The highest concentrations of PBDEs were observed for BDE 209, which was found almost in all samples and exceeded concentrations of other PBDEs even by one order of magnitude. The profile and levels of Penta-, Octa-, and DecaBDE obtained within this study were comparable to those presented in other studies worldwide and confirmed lower contamination of dust from Europe compared to North America. From the group of “alternative” BFRs, suitable for commercial applications as an alternative to banned PBDEs, mainly decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and HBCD were detected in the concentration ranges < 20–3567 and < 0.3–950 μg/kg, respectively. γ-HBCD was dominating, forming up to 70% of ΣHBCD. Using the measured concentrations and estimates of dust ingestion rates it was estimated that toddlers had a higher exposure than adults for all compounds investigated.

► The car and household dust were tested for the presence of various groups of BFRs.
► 16 PBDEs, HBCD and 6 “alternative” BFRs were on the list of target analytes.
► BDE 209 (decabrominated) was the most abundant BFR almost in all dust samples.
► Lower contamination of dust from Europe compared to North America was confirmed.
► The human exposure to BFRs from dust ingestion was estimated.