Ambient atmospheric levels of PBDEs across urban and rural centres in Australia determined using polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampling

Kennedy, Karen, Hearn, Laurence, Toms, Leisa-Maree Leontjew, Thompson, Jack, Bartkow, Michael and Mueller, Jochen (2008). Ambient atmospheric levels of PBDEs across urban and rural centres in Australia determined using polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampling. In: O. Hutzinger, Organohalogen Compounds. Proceedings of: 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2008). 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2008), Birmingham, U. K., (001621-001624). 17-22 August 2008.


Author Kennedy, Karen
Hearn, Laurence
Toms, Leisa-Maree Leontjew
Thompson, Jack
Bartkow, Michael
Mueller, Jochen
Title of paper Ambient atmospheric levels of PBDEs across urban and rural centres in Australia determined using polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampling
Conference Paper Type Fully Published Paper
Conference name 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2008)
Conference location Birmingham, U. K.
Conference dates 17-22 August 2008
Convener National Organising Committee & International Advisory Board
Proceedings title Organohalogen Compounds. Proceedings of: 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2008)   Check publisher's open access policy
Editor O. Hutzinger
Place published Bayreuth, Germany
Publisher Eco-Informa Press
Publication date 2008
Volume number 70
ISSN 1026-4892
Start page 001621
End page 001624
Total pages 4
Collection year 2009
Language eng
Formatted Abstract/Summary Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a class of brominated flame retardants are persistent, lipophilic compounds with a tendency to bioaccumulate. In Australia, PBDEs have been evaluated primarily in human samples such as breast milk and blood sera which have shown that the human body burden appears to be higher than many countries in Europe and Asia but lower than the USA and Canada. To date there is very limited exposure data available on sources, fate and exposure pathways of PBDEs in the Australian population although a comparison of human body burden from intake and chemical half life as well as various age specific factors suggest that current intake data underestimate the human body burden. Exposure through dust, indoor air and to a lesser extent ambient air, are being assessed as exposure pathways in this context. The focus on indoor air was prompted by overseas studies which simultaneously compared indoor and outdoor levels to find that PBDE exposures via indoor air are greater than outdoor air by factors ranging from 15 to 50. A preliminary study of indoor-outdoor exposure in Australia has provided initial confirmation of this finding with sum of PBDE concentrations in domestic indoor air 10 times that of outdoor air for two sites in Brisbane, Queensland (Toms unpublished data).

The atmosphere is considered an important pathway for the dispersion and transformation of semivolatile organic chemicals such as the PBDEs. To our knowledge no published data are available on the concentration of PBDEs in air from other regions in Australia. In this study we aimed to systematically evaluate the concentration of PBDEs at outdoor sites around Australia. Passive sampling has been applied successfully in the monitoring of PBDEs for urban-rural transects, indoor-outdoor exposure studies and over continental scales overseas. In this study, passive samplers were deployed across multiple sites within capital cities, rural/regional centres and a rural background site in three states of Australia. An assessment of current ambient exposure was derived using sampling rates for each site obtained from the use of performance reference compounds (PRCs). The ambient concentrations observed are compared with data from other studies around the world.
Subjects E1
259902 Environmental Chemistry (incl. Atmospheric Chemistry)
260699 Atmospheric Sciences not elsewhere classified
050206 Environmental Monitoring
Q-Index Code E1
Q-Index Status Confirmed Code

Document type: Conference Paper
Sub-type: Fully Published Paper
Collections: 2009 Higher Education Research Data Collection
National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology Publications
 
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Created: Sat, 14 Mar 2009, 10:27:06 EST by Marie-Louise Moore on behalf of National Res Centre For Environmental Toxicology