Tetrabromobisphenol A and heavy metal exposure via dust ingestion in an e-waste recycling region in Southeast China.

This study was designed to investigate a prevalent brominated flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and four heavy metals of Pb, Cr, As, Cd in dust samples (52 indoor and 52 outdoor) collected from residential houses in an e-waste recycling area in Southeast China. For TBBPA, the mean concentration in indoor dust (3435 ng/g, dw) was higher than that in outdoor dust (1998 ng/g, dw). For heavy metals, the mean concentrations of Pb, Cr, As, Cd were 399, 151, 48.13, and 5.85 mg/kg in indoor dust, respectively, and were 328, 191, 17.59, and 4.07 mg/kg in outdoor dust, respectively. Except for As, concentrations of TBBPA and other metals decreased with the increased distance away from the e-waste recycling center, suggesting significant contribution of e-waste activities. The daily exposure doses of TBBPA ranged from 0.04 to 7.50 ng/kg-bw/day for adults and from 0.31 to 58.54 ng/kg-bw/day for children, representing the highest values reported to date for TBBPA exposure via dust ingestion. Daily exposure doses of Cr, As, and Cd were all below the reference doses. However, daily exposure dose of Pb for children in areas near the e-waste processing center was above the reference dose, posing significant health concern for children in that region.

Optimization of a phase separation based magnetic-stirring salt-induced liquid-liquid microextraction method for determination of fluoroquinolones in food.

Herein, we developed a novel integrated apparatus to perform phase separation based on magnetic-stirring, salt-induced, liquid-liquid microextraction for determination of five fluoroquinolones in animal-based foods by HPLC analysis. The novel integrated apparatus consisted of three simple HDPE (high density polyethylene) parts that were used to separate the solvent from the aqueous solution prior to retrieving the extractant. The extraction parameters were optimized using the response surface method based on central composite design: 791 µL of acetone solvent, 2.5 g of Na2SO4, pH 1.7, 3.0 min of stir time, and 5.5 min centrifugation. The limits of detection were 0.07-0.53 µg kg(-1) and recoveries were 91.6-105.0% for the five fluoroquinolones from milk, eggs and honey. This method is easily constructed from inexpensive materials, extraction efficiency is high, and the approach is compatible with HPLC analysis. Thus, it has excellent prospects for sample pre-treatment and analysis of fluoroquinolones in animal-based foods.