Brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated compounds in indoor dust from homes and offices in Flanders, Belgium Wendy D’Hollander a, * , Laurence Roosens b , Adrian Covaci a,b , Christa Cornelis c , Hans Reynders d , Karen Van Campenhout d , Pim de Voogt e , Lieven Bervoets a a Laboratory for Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium b Toxicological Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium c Unit Environmental Risk and Health, VITO, Boeretang 200, 2400 Mol, Belgium d Environment & Health Unit, Department of Environment, Nature and Energy, Flemish Government – Koning Albert II-laan 20, bus 8, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium e Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands article info Article history: Received 23 April 2010 Received in revised form 16 July 2010 Accepted 18 July 2010 Available online 14 August 2010 Keywords: Indoor dust Brominated flame retardants Perfluorinated compounds Human exposure abstract The increasing time spent indoors combined with the abundant usage of diverse indoor chemicals led to concerns involving the impact of these compounds on human health. The current study focused on two groups of important indoor contaminants i.e. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and Perfluorinated com- pounds (PFCs). Concentrations of both compound classes have been measured in Flemish indoor dust sam- ples from homes and offices. RPolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (BDE 47, 99, 100, 154, 153, 197, 196 and 203) and BDE 209 in homes ranged between 4–1214 ng g À1 dw (median 35) and <5– 5295 ng g À1 dw (median 313), respectively. Hexabromocyclododecane (RHBCD) levels ranged from 5 to 42 692 ng g À1 dw (median 130), with a-HBCD being the major isomer (mean 59%). In addition, tetrabro- mobisphenol A (TBBPA) ranged between <3 and 419 ng g À1 dw (median 12). For all BFRs, median levels in office dust were up to an order of magnitude higher than in home dust. RPFCs (sum of perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorobuta- noic acid (PFBA), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)) concentrations in homes ranged from 0.2 to 336 ng g À1 (med- ian 3.0 ng g À1 ). Levels in office dust were higher (p < 0.01) than in house dust with RPFCs ranging between 2.2 and 647 ng g À1 (median 10 ng g À1 ) and median (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate values of 2.9 and 2.2 ng g À1 , respectively. The congener pattern was dominated by PFOA, followed by PFOS. Calculated human exposure was below the reference dose values set by the US-EPA for BDE 209, HBCD and below the provisional tolerable daily intakes proposed by European Food Safety Authority for PFOS and PFOA. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Modern life is characterised by an increased time spent indoors, both in the work environment and at home. As a result, indoor accommodations have evolved significantly over time with increasing attention given to leisure (e.g. TV, PC and kitchen aids), comfort (e.g. soft furnishing, curtains) and safety (e.g. fire and stain proof fabrics). Industrial development led to a large abundance of chemicals to accommodate this lifestyle, such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which have been detected abundantly in our indoor environment (Björkl- und et al., 2009; Roosens et al., 2009a,b). Unfortunately, well founded data concerning the presence of these compounds in in- door dust and the contribution of dust ingestion to overall human exposure are still insufficient for adequate risk assessment. BFRs have been used in high volumes to reduce the flammabil- ity of numerous types of polymers and resins commonly found in furniture, insulation foam and electronic components such as TVs and computers (Alaee et al., 2003). PFCs have been used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer applications that include stain- resistant coatings for fabrics and carpets, oil-resistant coatings for paper products approved for food contact, fire fighting foams, min- ing and oil well surfactants, floor polishes, and insecticide formula- tions (Key et al., 1997). Among PFCs, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are the most prominent compounds. Recently, BFRs and PFCs have been receiving more attention as their widespread usage (BSEF, 2001) combined with the increasing time spent indoors might be a reason for human health concern. Studies reported on the ubiquitous presence of these persistent compounds in the environment (Haukås et al., 0045-6535/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.07.043 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 3 2653779; fax: +32 3 2653497. E-mail address: wendy.dhollander@ua.ac.be (W. D’Hollander). Chemosphere 81 (2010) 478–487 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Chemosphere journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere