Exposure, risk and predictors of hexabromocyclododecane and Tetrabromobisphenol-A in house dust from urban, rural and E-waste dismantling sites in Thailand

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, we determined concentrations of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) in house dust and estimated human exposure to these substances in houses located in an e-waste dismantling site and in urban and rural residential areas of Thailand. The median HBCDD concentration in urban residential houses (2.10 ng g−1) was similar to that in houses in an e-waste dismantling site (2.05 ng g−1, p > 0.05) and slightly higher than that in rural residential houses (1.11 ng g−1, p > 0.05). In contrast, significantly higher TBBPA concentrations were present in house dust from an e-waste dismantling site (median = 720 ng g−1; range = 44–2300 ng g−1) compared to those in urban (68.6 ng g−1; 3.5–300 ng g−1, p < 0.001) and rural residential areas (17 ng g−1; 2.0–201 ng g−1, p < 0.001). TBBPA concentrations increased with the increasing presence of electronic devices and a decreasing distance to the e-waste dismantling site. These results suggest that e-waste dismantling activities may contribute to TBBPA contamination of house dust. The median estimated daily intake (EDI) of HBCDD and TBBPA through dust ingestion for toddlers exceeded that for children and adults. However, EDI values for HBCDD and TBBPA from all age groups were below the oral reference dose guideline value suggested by the US National Research Council and National Toxicology Program (NTP).