Longitudinal biomonitoring for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in residents of the Great Lakes basin.

Cross-sectional surveys of human blood and breast milk show increasing concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) that parallel the expanded use in consumer products, but longitudinal studies are lacking. We compared levels of major BDE congeners in archived 1994-1995 blood samples collected from a cohort of frequent and infrequent Great Lakes fish consumers with levels in the blood collected from the same individuals in 2001-2003 and 2004-2005. In mixed linear regression models controlling for multiple measurements per individual and covariates, statistically significant increases were seen from 1994-1995 to 2001-2003 for ∑PBDEs and BDE-47, 99, and 153 and from 1994-1995 to 2004-2005 for ∑PBDEs and BDE-99, 100, and 153, but ∑PBDEs and BDE congeners did not change significantly between 2001-2003 and 2004-2005.

Household exposures to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in a Wisconsin Cohort.

Background: Human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is virtually universal in the United States. Although the uses of these chemicals as flame retardants in fabrics, foams, and plastics are well defined, human exposure pathways are not well understood.

Objectives: This study was designed to assess current PBDE body burdens and identify residential sources of exposure among 29 men and 15 women in 38 households.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in serum: findings from a US cohort of consumers of sport-caught fish.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants in foams, fabrics and plastics, and are common contaminants of household air and dust and bioaccumulate in wildlife, and are detectable in human tissues and in fish and animal food products. In the Great Lakes Basin sport fish consumption has been demonstrated to be an important source of PCB and DDE exposure. PBDEs are present in the same sport fish but prior to our study the contribution to human PBDE body burdens from Great Lakes sport fish consumption had not been investigated.