Scientists find harmful chemicals in household dust

Since the 1970s, chemicals known as brominated flame retardants (BFR) have been added to a wide variety of consumer and household products, from electronics and mattresses to upholstery and carpets. While they were supposed to improve fire safety, one form – polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE – has been shown to be harmful, especially to our endocrine systems.

Although the use of PBDE has been restricted in Canada since 2008, older home electronics and furniture with these compounds are still used. Additionally, the process used to add this chemical to manufactured goods has bound the particles very loosely. As a result, the connection tends to loosen with normal wear and tear over time.

A growing body of evidence suggests that concentrations of this chemical are higher indoors and that it is present in dust. A team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan’s Canadian Light Source (CLS) and Memorial University wanted to find out whether they could use synchrotron X-ray techniques to find bromine in household dust.

By identifying the presence of bromine, they can confirm whether people are actually exposed to the chemical at home, either through direct physical contact or through inhalation. The scientists tested twenty dust samples from houses in rural Newfoundland using the VESPERS beamline at the CLS.

Dr. Peter Blanchard of the CLS said his team was not sure whether the bromine concentrations in their samples were high enough to be registered and, if so, whether they could then distinguish between different bromine species. They achieved victories on both points: “We were able to show that a noticeable amount of bromine was present in all of the dust samples we analyzed, and in a few we were able to identify bromine species that are characteristic of brominated flame retardants. “Said Blanchard. Previous studies could not distinguish brominated flame retardants from other brominated compounds.

The study co-author, Dr. Atanu Sarkar, who works in Memorial University’s medical school, said her findings represent a choice between bad and worse: fire safety versus another type of hazard. He acknowledged that it is not feasible for people to stripping their homes of all products and materials that contain BRFs.

“But if dust is a source of our exposure, how can you reduce that exposure?” Said Sarkar. “Public awareness is very important. Maybe we have to vacuum the dust more often. ”

Their results indicate the need to identify safer alternatives and raise awareness among consumers about those that are free of brominated compounds. The team recently published its findings in Environmental science and pollution research.

The scientists added that one of the biggest advantages of using the CLS for this type of research is that the synchrotron-based XRF and XANES techniques do not destroy dust samples, unlike other commonly used test equipment.

Therefore, it will be possible to collect samples later from the same households, compare them to the batch used in this study, and analyze the current samples in five or ten years’ time to see what the BRF chemicals may look like in our homes change over time.

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More information:
Peter Blanchard et al. Evaluation of the use of synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy in the investigation of brominated flame retardants in indoor dust, Environmental science and pollution research (2020). DOI: 10.1007 / s11356-020-10623-4

Provided by Canadian Light Source