Contamination levels, influencing factors, and risk assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in house dust of northern Serbia

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 31; no. 17; pp. 25033 - 25045
• Main Authors: Dvoršćak, Marija, Živančev, Jelena, Jagić, Karla, Buljovčić, Maja, Antić, Igor, Đurišić-Mladenović, Nataša, Klinčić, Darija
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Beta decay; Chromatography, Gas; Congeners; Contaminants; Contamination; Dermal absorption; Dust; Dust - analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electron capture detectors; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Ethers; Gas chromatography; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - analysis; Health risks; House dust; Households; Houses; Humans; Ingestion; Low concentrations; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Principal components analysis; Research Article; Risk Assessment; Serbia; Statistical analysis; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Serbia; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); Serbia; Health risk assessment; House dust
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32836-7

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of compounds that, due to their applications, are considered mainly indoor contaminants. To obtain the first information about the presence of PBDEs in Serbia, dust samples ( n  = 50) were collected in settlements in the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina. The selected/target congeners (BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, and 183) were extracted from house dust by microwave-assisted extraction technique, and purified extracts were analyzed on a dual-column gas chromatograph with micro-electron capture detectors. A wide range of ΣPBDEs was detected (0.295 to 394 ng g −1 dust), which reflects large differences in contamination among the examined homes. For the majority of samples (72%), ΣPBDEs were lower than 5 ng g −1 indicating that people living in Vojvodina province are exposed to low concentrations of PBDEs present in their households. Based on principal component analysis (PCA), balcony areas and age of the house positively correlate with the PBDE congeners with higher detection frequencies (≥ 50%), namely, with BDE-99, BDE-153, and BDE-183. Statistically significant positive correlation ( p  < 0.01) was obtained for BDE-99 and the number of household’s members. Estimated daily intakes (EDItot) were calculated for ingestion and dermal absorption of dust for two age groups—adults and toddlers. These are the first data on PBDE status in the area of the Western Balkan, and the health risk assessment indicates that PBDE levels obtained in household dust do not pose a risk for human health.