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Investigation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in old consumer products in India

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Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used extensively over the past 3 decades as flame retardants in most types of polymers, all over the world, have been identified as global pollutants. PBDEs pose various health problems such as thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory impairment, behavioral changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset, fetal malformations, and possibly cancer. Many measurements of PBDEs in various matrices from Sweden, Holland, Japan, the USA, and elsewhere have been reported, but few measurements are available for India. In this study, a preliminary screening of different congeners of PBDEs has been performed in different old electronic and consumer products with an objective to build capacity in order to analyze PBDEs and BFRs. Six different samples, foam from upholstery, motherboard of a computer, children toy composite sample, old vanishing window blind sample, electrical wire sample, and PVC flooring sample, were collected and analyzed for the presence of the following PBDE congeners: BDE-28, BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, BDE-154, BDE-183, and BDE-209. It was found that three out of six samples were positive for the presence of PBDEs. Three congeners were detected in the samples, i.e., BDE-47, BDE-153, and BDE-209, of which, highest concentration was of BDE-209. Among the samples, motherboard of computer showed the highest concentration of BDE-209 followed by window blind and foam from upholstery. The results of this preliminary investigation indicate that PBDEs are still present in the old consumer products which can be an important additional source of exposure to the population.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Secretariat of Stockholm Convention, Geneva under the Small Scale Funding agreement and the Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Czech Republic for assistance during sampling and sample analyses. We also acknowledge the enthusiastic support and encouragement of Dr. P. L. Muthal, Dr. Kavita Gandhi, and Dr. N. A. Khan during this research work.

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  1. CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Kanchan Kumari, Jitendra K. Sharma, Gajanan S. Kanade, Sanjay M Kashyap, Asha A. Juwarkar & Satish R. Wate

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  1. Kanchan Kumari
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  2. Jitendra K. Sharma
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Correspondence to Kanchan Kumari.

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Kumari, K., Sharma, J.K., Kanade, G.S. et al. Investigation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in old consumer products in India. Environ Monit Assess 186, 3001–3009 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3596-2

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