Relationships between polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in house dust and serum.
Abstract
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been measured in the home environment
and in humans, but studies linking environmental levels to body burdens are limited.
This study examines the relationship between PBDE concentrations in house dust and
serum from adults residing in these homes. We measured PBDE concentrations in house
dust from 50 homes and in serum of male-female couples from 12 of the homes. Detection
rates, dust-serum, and within-matrix correlations varied by PBDE congener. There was
a strong correlation (r = 0.65-0.89, p < 0.05) between dust and serum concentrations
of several predominant PBDE congeners (BDE 47, 99, and 100). Dust and serum levels
of BDE 153 were not correlated (r < 0.01). The correlation of dust and serum levels
of BDE 209 could not be evaluated due to low detection rates of BDE 209 in serum.
Serum concentrations of the sum of BDE 47, 99, and 100 were also strongly correlated
within couples (r = 0.85, p = 0.0005). This study provides evidence that house dust
is a primary exposure pathway of PBDEs and supports the use of dust PBDE concentrations
as a marker for exposure to PBDE congeners other than BDE 153.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4025Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1021/es100697qPublication Info
Johnson, Paula I; Stapleton, Heather M; Sjodin, Andreas; & Meeker, John D (2010). Relationships between polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations in house dust and
serum. Environ Sci Technol, 44(14). pp. 5627-5632. 10.1021/es100697q. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/4025.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Heather M. Stapleton
Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor
Dr. Stapleton's research focuses on understanding the fate and transformation of organic
contaminants in aquatic systems and in indoor environments. Her main focus has been
on the bioaccumulation and biotransformation of brominated flame retardants, and specifically
polybrominated diphenyl ethers,(PBDEs). Her current research projects explore the
routes of human exposure to flame retardant chemicals and examine the way these compounds
are photodegraded and metabolized using mass spectrometry to

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info