PMID- 15761315 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20050607 LR - 20221025 IS - 1076-2752 (Print) IS - 1076-2752 (Linking) VI - 47 IP - 3 DP - 2005 Mar TI - Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants in the U.S. population: current levels, temporal trends, and comparison with dioxins, dibenzofurans, and polychlorinated biphenyls. PG - 199-211 AB - Brominated flame retardants have come into common use in the United States during the past 3 decades. This study reports levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants in blood from the U.S. population at the present time and 30 years previously and also current human milk levels. This is also the first study to report measured congeners and dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs) of dioxins, dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from archived, 1973, blood and compare them with current levels. The findings indicate there have been significant changes in levels of each class of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in U.S. human blood. Although dioxin, dibenzofuran, and PCB levels are markedly higher in the 1973 blood, the opposite is true for PBDEs. Furthermore, unlike dioxins, dibenzofurans, and PCBs, which increase with age, there was no significant correlation found in our study between PBDE levels and age. Current total PBDE levels in U.S. blood are the highest reported worldwide to date, with 2 pooled samples (N = 100 each) measuring 61.7 and 79.7 parts per billion (ppb) lipid, and in a series of 39 individual analyses, the range was 4.6 to 365.5 ppb with a median of 29 ppb and a mean of 52.6 ppb. The median for women in this study was 43.3 ppb, and for men it was 25.1 ppb. Although women have a higher level of PBDEs in blood than men, in our study, this is not statistically significant. Blood levels are similar to levels in U.S. human milk from 59 women, 6.2 to 418.8 ppb lipid. Levels of PBDE in pooled 2003 serum are far higher at 61.7 ppb than in 1973 archived pooled serum in which almost no PBDEs were quantified, although the estimated level using half the detection limit for nondetects was 0.77 ppb. Although no human health studies have been conducted on PBDEs, they are of concern because in vivo and in vitro animal studies show nervous system, reproductive, developmental, and endocrine effects, as well as cancer in high-dose studies. FAU - Schecter, Arnold AU - Schecter A AD - University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas Campus, 6011 Harry Hines Boulevard V8.112, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. arnold.schecter@utsouthwestern.edu FAU - Papke, Olaf AU - Papke O FAU - Tung, Kuang Chi AU - Tung KC FAU - Joseph, Jean AU - Joseph J FAU - Harris, T Robert AU - Harris TR FAU - Dahlgren, James AU - Dahlgren J LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Historical Article PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - United States TA - J Occup Environ Med JT - Journal of occupational and environmental medicine JID - 9504688 RN - 0 (Benzofurans) RN - 0 (Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated) RN - 0 (Dioxins) RN - 0 (Environmental Pollutants) RN - 0 (Ethers) RN - 0 (Flame Retardants) RN - 0 (Polybrominated Biphenyls) RN - DFC2HB4I0K (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Age Factors MH - Benzofurans/blood MH - Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated MH - Dioxins/blood MH - *Environmental Exposure MH - Environmental Pollutants/*blood MH - Ethers MH - Female MH - Flame Retardants/*analysis MH - History, 20th Century MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Milk, Human/*chemistry MH - Polybrominated Biphenyls/analysis/*blood/history MH - Polychlorinated Biphenyls/blood MH - Sex Factors MH - United States EDAT- 2005/03/12 09:00 MHDA- 2005/06/09 09:00 CRDT- 2005/03/12 09:00 PHST- 2005/03/12 09:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2005/06/09 09:00 [medline] PHST- 2005/03/12 09:00 [entrez] AID - 00043764-200503000-00001 [pii] AID - 10.1097/01.jom.0000158704.27536.d2 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Occup Environ Med. 2005 Mar;47(3):199-211. doi: 10.1097/01.jom.0000158704.27536.d2.