Polybrominated diphenyl ether levels in dust collected from cars in Kuwait: Implications for human exposure

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) with a ubiquitous environmental distribution. Their presence in cars is linked to their use as flame retardants in electronic items and instrument panels, high-impact plastics, foam and fabric of car seats. The goal of this study was to investigate the occurrence and concentration of PBDEs in dust samples collected from 19 randomly selected cars in normal use in Kuwait and to assess human non-dietary ingestion exposure to these compounds. The concentrations of the total target PBDEs, Σ₁₄PBDEs, were log normally distributed and ranged from 68 to 17,200 ng/g. BDE-209 was the dominant congener in all cars examined with concentrations ranging from 52 to 16,100 ng/g which, on average, accounted for 77% of the Σ₁₄PBDEs measured. Using the measured concentrations the estimated human non-dietary ingestion exposure based on median PBDE concentrations ranged from 0.034 ng/kg-bw/day for adults to 0.138 ng/kg-bw/day for toddlers. The exposure estimate for drivers was the highest at 0.170 ng/kg-bw/day. This study supports the previous findings of photolytic debromination of BDE-209 to lower brominated congeners known to be more bioaccumulative and toxic.