Polybrominated diphenyl ethers: occurrence, dietary exposure, and toxicology.

By P. Darnerud, G. Eriksen, T. Jóhannesson, P. B. Larsen, M. Viluksela. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2001

1,159 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used as flame retardants in plastics (concentration, 5--30%) and in textile coatings. Commercial products consist predominantly of penta-, octa-, and decabromodiphenyl ether mixtures, and global PBDE production is about 40,000 tons per year. PBDEs are bioaccumulated and biomagnified in the environment, and comparatively high levels are often found in aquatic biotopes from different parts of the world. During the mid-1970--1980s there was a substantial increase in the PBDE levels with time in both sediments and aquatic biota, whereas the latest Swedish data (pike and guillemot egg) may indicate that levels are at steady state or are decreasing. However, exponentially increasing PBDE levels have been observed in mother's milk during 1972--1997. Based on levels in food from 1999, the dietary intake of PBDE in Sweden has been estimated to be 0.05 microg per day. Characteristic end points of animal toxicity are hepatotoxicity, embryotoxicity, and thyroid effects as well as maternal toxicity during gestation. Recently, behavioral effects have been observed in mice on administration of PBDEs during a critical period after birth. Based on the critical effects reported in available studies, we consider the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) value of the PBDE group to be 1 mg/kg/day (primarily based on effects of pentaBDEs). In conclusion, with the scientific knowledge of today and based on Nordic intake data, the possible consumer health risk from PBDEs appears limited, as a factor of over 10(6) separates the estimated present mean dietary intake from the suggested LOAEL value. However, the presence of many and important data gaps, including those in carcinogenicity, reproduction, and developmental toxicity, as well as additional routes of exposure, make this conclusion only preliminary. Moreover, the time trend of PBDEs in human breast milk is alarming for the future.

Subfields: Cancer Research, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/4d78b5ca8da51f01f15f1d1eb11ef0adca0bc3fa

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In Cancer Research

1. Stephen R. Smith
2. B. Clarke
3. P. Darnerud

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

1. M. Wong
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3. B. Clarke
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Citations in the corpus

• Review of 'emerging' organic contaminants in biosolids and assessment of international research priorities for the agricultural use of biosolids. (2011, background): “Several studies have shown that PBDEs share similar general properties to organo-halogenated compounds as in vivo exposure of rodents resulted in reduction of serum total and free thyroid hormone (thyroxine T4) levels (Darnerud et al., 2001; McDonald, 2002).”
• Export of toxic chemicals - a review of the case of uncontrolled electronic-waste recycling. (2007, result): “The figures were also higher than some polluted sites reported in other countries, for example, Japan (at highest concentration 70 μg kg) (Darnerud et al., 2001), Belgium (up to 200 μg kg, but most samples were below 20 μg kg) (de Wit, 2002), and Portugal (21 μg kg was observed in sediments collecte”
• Prenatal Exposure to PBDEs and Neurodevelopment (2010, positive): “Because they are additives rather than chemically bound to consumer products, they have the propensity to be released into the environment (Darnerud et al. 2001).”
• Toxic effects of brominated flame retardants in man and in wildlife. (2003, methodology): “Also in the rabbit, maternal toxicity was observed at OctaBDE doses higher than those giving fetal effects (maternal body weight gain decrease and liver enlargement at 15 mg/kg body wt.) (Breslin et al., 1989; commented in Darnerud et al., 2001).”
• Aquaculture practices and potential human health risks: current knowledge and future priorities. (2008, background): “, 2004), limited data are available regarding the adverse health effects associated with PBDEs (Darnerud et al., 2001; de Wit, 2002; Birnbaum and Staskal, 2004).”
• Recent developments in the fire retardancy of polymeric materials (2013, background): “hexabromodiphenylethers, 43-44% heptabromodiphenyl ethers, and 31-35% octabromodiphenyl ethers; and penta-BDE, ~50-62% pentabromodiphenyl ethers and 24-38% tetrabromodiphenyl ethers [24, 25].”