Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the serum and breast milk of the resident population from production area, China

• Published in: Environment international 2009-10, Vol.35 (7), p.1048-1052
• Main Authors: Jin, Jun, Wang, Ying, Yang, Congqiao, Hu, Jicheng, Liu, Weizhi, Cui, Jian, Tang, Xiaoyan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Breast; Breast milk; China; Coastal environments; Congeners; Diet; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - blood; Environmental pollutants toxicology; Ethers; Female; General aspects; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - analysis; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers - blood; Human; Human exposure; Humans; Lipids; Male; Maternal Exposure; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Milk; Milk, Human - chemistry; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Public health; Risk Factors; Serum; Serums; Source area; Toxicology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0160-4120; 1873-6750
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2009.05.006

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been produced in the south coast area of Laizhou Bay, Shandong Province in China, but little is known about the PBDE exposure level of residents to these compounds. We set out to assess potential health risks of PBDEs in the south coast area of the Laizhou Bay by determining the concentrations of PBDEs in serum and breast milk. We measured concentrations of eight PBDE congeners in serum and breast milk. The arithmetic means of Σ 8PBDE in pooled serum and breast milk were 613 ng/g lipid and 81.5 ng/g lipid, respectively. The highest concentration for Σ 8PBDE in all serum pools was 1830 ng/g lipid from the 41–50 year old female group. BDE-209 was the predominant congener, with the mean concentrations of 403 ng/g lipid in serum and 45.6 ng/g lipid in breast milk, respectively. BDE-209 averagely accounted for 65.8% and 54.2% of the total PBDEs, respectively. Our results suggest that high exposures to PBDEs have led to very high PBDE concentrations in serum and breast milk from the residents living in the south coast area of Laizhou Bay. High PBDE concentrations in human serum, particularly in women, pose a potential public health threat to local residents.