Brominated flame retardant concentrations in sera from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) from 2007 to 2009

Abstract

Pooling of surplus serum from individual samples, collected between 2007 and 2009 during Cycle 1 of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS), was performed to develop a national baseline estimate of brominated flame retardants in Canadians. Serum samples were categorized by sex and distributed by five age groups ranging from 6 to 79 years. Nearly 5000 (4583) serum samples were used to form 59 composite pools. Serum pools were created to ensure a high detection frequency of these analytes in serum because low volume samples had previously resulted in non-detectable concentrations. The analytes of interest in these serum pools included 23 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and three hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers (α-, β- and γ-HBCD). PBDEs were observed in all samples tested and total PBDE concentrations ranged from 27 ng g−1 lipid to 130 ng g−1 lipid (geometric mean [GM] 46 ng g−1 lipid). ∑PBDE concentrations were significantly elevated in samples representing the 6–11 year old age group (GM 65 ng g−1 lipid) relative to ages above 40 years, although no difference in concentration was observed between the sexes. PBDE concentrations in Canadian sera from the general population were higher than reported in Europe and Asia, but a little lower than observed in the US. PBDE 47 was the greatest contributor to ∑PBDE concentrations and the GM concentration for this congener was 22 ng g−1 lipid. The other dominant contributors to ∑PBDE concentrations were in descending order: 153 [GM 9.4 ng g−1 lipid] > 99 [GM 4.6 ng g−1 lipid] ≅ 100 [GM 4.1 ng g−1 lipid] > 209 [GM 1.1 ng g−1 lipid] and 183 [GM 0.42 ng g−1 lipid]. ∑HBCD was detected in all samples analysed, although most samples were observed at concentrations <1 ng g−1 lipid, similar to global concentrations. α-HBCD was the dominant contributor to ∑HBCD concentrations in Canadians although β- and γ-HBCD were detected in 23% and 35% of the samples, respectively. No differences in ∑HBCD concentration were associated with age or sex. This dataset represents the first national data describing HBCD isomers and some PBDEs (e.g., 183, 209) in Canadians. Keywords: BFRs, PBDEs, HBCD, Human serum, Canada, Canadian Health Measures Survey