Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether and Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Canadian Fire Station Dust.

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether and Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Canadian Fire Station Dust. Chemosphere. 2020 Aug;253:126669 Authors: Gill R, Hurley S, Brown R, Tarrant D, Dhaliwal J, Sarala R, Park JS, Patton S, Petreas M Abstract Fire fighters are at a high risk for exposure to toxic chemicals during and subsequent to fire suppression activities. In the Canadian Fire Station Dust Study (CFSDS) we measured 19 polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) and six organophosphate flame retardant (OPFR) chemicals in dust collected in 2017-18 by vacuuming the living quarters of 24 Canadian fire stations from four provinces. The predominant flame retardant (FR) was BDE-209, with a median concentration of 7060 ng/g, which was a magnitude higher than medians of the major congeners of the pentaBDE formulation measured at 620 ng/g (Σ5 BDE-47, 99, 100, 153 and 154). OPFR median concentrations exceeded those of pentaBDE and were on the same order of magnitude as BDE-209, with TCIPP, TDCIPP and TPHP as the dominant OPFRs with median concentrations ranging from 2350 to 4780 ng/g. Fire station age and carpeting were significantly correlated with select OPFRs and PBDEs. Furthermore, fire stations that also vacuumed equipment bays and fire truck interiors had median concentrations that were a magnitude higher (BDE-209: 81,700 ng/g) and two to three-fold higher (TCIPP, TDCIPP and TPHP) than fire stations that excluded those areas. FR concentration...
Source: Chemosphere - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Chemosphere Source Type: research