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Clean-up method for determination of established and emerging brominated flame retardants in dust

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Abstract

A clean-up method was developed to enable the determination of tri-decabrominated diphenyl ethers, isomer-specific hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), (2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromobenzoate (TBB), and bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) in the same dust sample extract using reasonable amounts of solvents and without dividing the sample. After extraction, the sample was separated on a silica column into three fractions that were subsequently cleaned up individually. The polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and DBDPE were eluted in Fraction I, TBB, TBPH, and BTBPE in Fraction II, and HBCDs in Fraction III. Fractions I and II were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and Fraction III using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The method gave good recoveries (60–120%), precise results using 13 C-labelled internal standards and was accurate when comparing results to certified values (PBDEs in NIST SRM 2585). The method was applied to dust samples from the Stockholm (Sweden) area. All the emerging brominated flame retardants (BFRs) studied, except BTBPE, were present in all the samples in quantifiable concentrations, often higher than the PBDEs. BTBPE was quantified in only one sample. It is evident that emerging BFRs are present in Swedish homes, and these compounds should be included in the BFR analyses of indoor environments.

Clean-up method for determination of BFRs in dust

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Acknowledgments

We thank Tomas Alsberg for assistance with the UPLC/MS instrumentation; Ulla Eriksson for help with the GC/MS; and Karin Sjöstedt for laboratory work. Amelie Kierkegaard is acknowledged for valuable discussions. This study was funded by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning (FORMAS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM), Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Leena Sahlström, Ulla Sellström & Cynthia A. de Wit

Authors
  1. Leena Sahlström
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  2. Ulla Sellström
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  3. Cynthia A. de Wit
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Correspondence to Leena Sahlström.

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Sahlström, L., Sellström, U. & de Wit, C.A. Clean-up method for determination of established and emerging brominated flame retardants in dust. Anal Bioanal Chem 404, 459–466 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6160-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6160-y

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