Characterization of brominated flame retardants in house dust and their role as non-dietary source for human in Indonesia

The present study determined the levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and compared them with the levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in house dust and other environmental media from Indonesia, aiming at characterization of these compounds in house dust and the role of house dust as a human non-dietary exposure. PBDEs and HBCDs were detected in all the samples of indoor dust, indicating their ubiquitous contamination with varying concentrations depending on the indoor environment characteristics; work places > homes, living room > others, and rooms with computers > rooms without computers. Concentrations of PBDEs in house dust (range: 20–1500 ng/g dust, mean 200 ng/g dust and median 120 ng/g dust) were higher than HBCDs (range: 1.5–75 ng/g dust, mean 24 ng/g dust and median 12 ng/g dust), which is concomitant with the difference in the historical usage of these two BFRs. PCBs levels were the lowest (ranged 1.5–78 ng/g dust, mean 14 ng/g dust, median 10 ng/g dust). Levels of PBDEs and HBCDs in house dust from Indonesia were among the lowest when compared globally. BDE-209 was almost the only congener present in the dust of this study, implying the predominant use of deca-BDE formulation in household products, similar to other Asian and European countries reported by several literatures, but different with those in North America where Penta-BDE mixtures constitute larger proportion. Estimation of total daily intake of BFRs indicate that, unlike PCBs, dust ingestion contributes significantly to human exposure to PBDEs and HBCDs.