Preliminary results on polybrominated diphenyl ether contamination status in Croatian households and insights into children's exposure.

ABSTRACT

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were analyzed in house dust samples collected in Croatian households. ∑PBDEs ranged between 1.1 ng g-1 dust and 17662.4 ng g-1 dust with BDE-99 being the most dominant congener accounting for approximately 60 %. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for toddlers as the most vulnerable population group ranged from 0.003 to 55.04 and from 0.01 to 110.07 ng kg-1 bw day-1 in the central and worst case scenario, respectively. The EDI calculated for the dominant BDE-99 in the sample with the highest ∑PBDE was in the worst case scenario 68.99 ng kg-1 bw day-1, which was quite close to the reference dose of 100 ng kg-1 bw day-1.