| Title: | Identifying transfer mechanisms and sources of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) in indoor environments using environmental forensic microscopy |
| Author(s): | Webster TF; Harrad S; Millette JR; Holbrook RD; Davis JM; Stapleton HM; Allen JG; McClean MD; Ibarra C; Abdallah MA; Covaci A; |
| Address: | "Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA. twebster@bu.edu" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0013-936X (Print) 0013-936X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Although the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in house dust has been linked to consumer products, the mechanism of transfer remains poorly understood. We conjecture that volatilized PBDEs will be associated with dust particles containing organic matter and will be homogeneously distributed in house dust. In contrast, PBDEs arising from weathering or abrasion of polymers should remain bound to particles of the original polymer matrix and will be heterogeneously distributed within the dust. We used scanning electron microscopy and othertools of environmental forensic microscopy to investigate PBDEs in dust, examining U.S. and U.K. dust samples with extremely high levels of BDE 209 (260-2600 microg/g), a nonvolatile compound at room temperature. We found that the bromine in these samples was concentrated in widely scattered, highly contaminated particles. In the house dust samples from Boston (U.S.), bromine was associated with a polymer/organic matrix. These results suggest that the BDE 209 was transferred to dust via physical processes such as abrasion or weathering. In conjunction with more traditional tools of environmental chemistry, such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), environmental forensic microscopy provides novel insights into the origins of BDE 209 in dust and their mechanisms of transfer from products" |
| Keywords: | "Air Pollution, Indoor/*analysis Automobiles Dust/analysis *Environment Forensic Sciences/*instrumentation Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers/*analysis Massachusetts Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Spectrophotometry, Infrared United Kingdom;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineWebster, Thomas F Harrad, Stuart Millette, James R Holbrook, R David Davis, Jeffrey M Stapleton, Heather M Allen, Joseph G McClean, Michael D Ibarra, Catalina Abdallah, Mohamed Abou-Elwafa Covaci, Adrian eng R01 ES015829/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01 ES015829-01A1/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ R01ES015829/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2009/06/19 Environ Sci Technol. 2009 May 1; 43(9):3067-72. doi: 10.1021/es803139w" |
