Concentrations of organophosphorus, polybromobenzene, and polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants in human serum, and relationships between concentrations and donor ages

•Organophosphorus flame retardants, polybromobenzenes and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in human serum were detected.•Tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) was found at a higher concentration than the other chemicals.•Many kinds of alternative flame retardants were accumulated more in young people.

Organophosphorus flame retardants, polybromobenzenes, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined in pooled human serum samples collected in an area in which these chemicals are produced in North China. Tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) was found at a higher concentration than the other chemicals, and the mean TCEP concentration was 480.4 ng/g lipid. This is the first time TCEP has been detected in human serum from China. The PBDE concentration in serum was found to have decreased between 2007 and 2013. BDE-209 remained the dominant PBDE congener, and its mean concentration was 91.3 ng/g lipid in this study. The polybromobenzene concentrations were relatively low, but pentabromobenzene and pentabromotoluene were found in very many of the samples. The highest TCEP, tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate, pentabromobenzene, and pentabromotoluene concentrations were found in samples from young people (<30 y old). This suggests that the risks posed by these alternative flame retardants also need more concerns.