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Organophosphate Flame Retardants in House Dust from South China and Related Human Exposure Risks

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Abstract

House dust associated with organic pollutants is not only a potential source of pollutants to the outdoor environment, but also a source to human exposure. The present study investigated the occurrence and concentrations of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in house dust collected from South China dwellings (n = 20). The results revealed a universal presence of most target OPFRs in house dust, with concentrations of ΣOPFRs ranging from 2.06 to 19.95 μg/g. The median concentration of ΣOPFR (9.20 μg/g) was one order of magnitude greater than that of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (0.80 μg/g). The composition of OPFR chemicals in house dust was dominated by chlorinated OPFRs, such as tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) and tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP). This compositional pattern was different from what has been reported in indoor dust from many other countries, where tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP) was generally dominant. The daily intake of OPFRs by adults was estimated to be 1.6 and 4.2 ng/kg body weight/day under average and high exposure scenarios, respectively, and 31.7 and 127 ng/kg body weight/day for toddlers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank financial support from the Guangdong (China) Special Funding for Public Research and Capacity Development (2014A020213009). We also thank the families participating in this project.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. School of Environment, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Exposure and Health, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

      Hongli Tan, Changfeng Peng, Ying Guo & Da Chen

    2. Research Center for Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

      Xiaodong Wang

    3. Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

      Xiaodong Wang

    4. Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

      Yan Wu

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    1. Hongli Tan
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    2. Changfeng Peng
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    3. Ying Guo
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    5. Yan Wu
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    Correspondence to Da Chen.

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    Hongli Tan and Changfeng Peng are Co-first author and contributed equally to do this work.

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    Tan, H., Peng, C., Guo, Y. et al. Organophosphate Flame Retardants in House Dust from South China and Related Human Exposure Risks. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 99, 344–349 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2120-8

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