Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in paired dust-breast milk samples: Levels, predictors of contamination, and health risk assessment for infants and mothers

An integrated study on the levels of 7 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in house dust and breast milk samples from women (N = 30) living in these households was conducted. ∑PBDEs ranged from <LOD to 523 ng g⁻¹ dust (median 4.9 ng g⁻¹ dust), and from 0.16 to 6.3 ng g⁻¹ lipid weight (lw) (median 0.49 ng g⁻¹ lw), in house dust and breast milk samples, respectively. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the mass fractions of BDE-153 from breast milk, and BDE-47, BDE-99 and BDE-100 from house dust, congeners that all originate from the “penta” formulation, indicating its dominance as PBDE exposure source in the examined household dusts. The number of electronic and electrical devices, and age of the building were positive, and the number of upholstered furniture and household area were negative predictors of PBDE dust levels. Mothers age was negative predictor of the PBDE levels in breast milk, possibly due to dilution of PBDEs in total body fat accumulated over the years. The results of health risk assessment suggest that detected PBDE levels don’t pose non-carcinogenic risk to the study population.