PM06 Emerging Pollutants
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday
(PM053) Measurement of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in standard reference materials.
Stapleton, H1, Keller, J2, Kucklick, J2, Schantz, M1, Wise, S1, 1 National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA2 National Institute of Standards and Technology, Charleston, SC, USA
ABSTRACT- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are synthetic flame retardants that are often applied to numerous types of textiles, furniture and electronic components. Because of their heavy use and application PBDEs are now considered ubiquitous contaminants and temporal trends have indicated concentrations are increasing in many environmental media. Based on these findings many laboratories are now beginning routine measurements for PBDEs in environmental samples. As such, standard reference materials (SRMs) are needed to provide quality assurance on PBDE measurements. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has, for over 20 years, provided natural environmental matrix SRMs for organic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides. Here we now report measurements of 14 PBDE congeners in the following standard reference materials: SRM 1945 (Organics in Whale Blubber), SRM 1946 (Lake Superior Fish Tissue), SRM 1947 (Lake Michigan Fish Tissue), SRM 1974b (Organics in Mussel Tissue, Mytilus edulis), SRM 1941b (Organics in marine sediment), SRM 1944 (New York/ New Jersey Waterway Sediment), SRM 1589a (PCBs, Pesticides and Dioxins/Furans in Human Serum) and SRMs 2583 and 2584 (Trace Elements in Indoor Dust). In general all biota samples displayed very similar PBDE congener patterns dominated by 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 47). However, SRM 1944 (sediment) and SRMs 2583 and 2584 (indoor dust), displayed significantly different congener patterns that were dominated by 2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′-decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209). In general, SRM 1589a (human serum) displayed the lowest total PBDE concentrations (70 ng/g lipid), while the indoor dust SRMs displayed the highest total PBDE concentrations (3,000 to 3,300 ng/g dry mass).
Key words: standard reference materials, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, environmental matrices, human serum