Tri-decabrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane in indoor air and dust from Stockholm microenvironments 1: Levels and profiles

Indoor air (gas and particle phase) and dust samples were collected from 10 houses, 44 apartments, 10 day care centers, 10 offices, 17 new cars and two car dealership halls from Stockholm. Sweden, and analyzed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). Median Sigma PBDE concentrations in air were 330, 58, 4000, 14 000 and 510 pg/m(3) in houses, apartments, day care centers, offices and cars, respectively. Median Sigma PBDE concentrations in dust were 510, 1400, 1200, 1200 and 1400 ng/g in houses, apartments, day care centers, offices and cars, respectively. HBCD was detected in most dust samples (median range, 45-340 ng/g) but only in a few air samples (median range, <1.6-2.0 pg/m(3)). For all microenvironments, the brominated flame retardant (BFR) found in highest concentration in air was Sigma DecaBDE, primarily BDE-209, followed by Sigma PentaBDE, and in dust, Sigma DecaBDE, followed by HBCD (offices, day care centers, cars) or Sigma PentaBDE (houses, apartments). Positive correlations were found between matched air and dust samples for Sigma PentaBDE, but not for Sigma DecaBDE. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.