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AbstractBackground:Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) are a group of environmental contaminants increasing in North America. Few data are available on neurobehavioral effects at low-dose exposure. Objectives:Our goal in the present study was to evaluate whether low-dose BDE-47, which is the most abundant PBDE in human samples, affects the neurobehavioral development of rats. Methods:Dams were exposed to vehicle or low-dose BDE-47 (0.002, 0.02 and 0.2 mg/kg body weight) each 5 days from gestational day 15 to postnatal day (PND) 20 by intravenous injections. Spontaneous locomotor activity of pups was assessed using the open field test on PND 15, 20 and 25. Sensorimotor coordination was assessed using a RotaRod on PND 30. Results:Exposure to BDE-47 increased locomotor activity of pups. Developmental landmarks and sensorimotor coordination were not influenced by exposure to BDE-47. BDE-47 content in adipose tissue of exposed rats was similar to that known for human populations. Conclusion:These results indicate neurodevelopmental disruption induced in rats by BDE-47 at levels found in the human population.Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) body burdens in North America are 20 times that of Europeans and some "high accumulation" individuals have burdens up to 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than median values, the reasons for which are not known. We estimated emissions and fate of ΣPBDEs (minus BDE-209) in a 470 km2 area of Toronto, Canada, using the Multi-media Urban Model (MUM- Fate). Using a combination of measured and modeled concentrations for indoor and outdoor air, soil, and dust plus measured concentrations in food, we estimated exposure to ΣPBDEs via soil, dust, and dietary ingestion and indoor and outdoor inhalation pathways. Fate calculations indicate that 57-85% of PBDE emissions to the outdoor environment originate from within Toronto and that the dominant removal process is advection by air to downwind locations. Inadvertent ingestion of house dust is the largest contributor to exposure of toddlers through to adults and is thus the main exposure pathway for all life stages other than the infant including the nursing mother, who transfers PBDEs to her infant via human milk. The next major exposure pathway is dietary ingestion of animal and dairy products. Infant consumption of human milk is the largest contributor to lifetime exposure. Inadvertent ingestion of dust is the main exposure pathway for a scenario of occupational exposure in a computer recycling facility and a fish eater. Ingestion of dust can lead to almost 100- fold higher exposure than "average" for a toddler with a high dust intake rate living in a home in which PBDE concentrations are elevated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of tetrabromobisphenol-A-bis(2,3,-dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-BDBPE) flame retardant is generally unknown in wildlife. A highly sensitive, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based method was developed for TBBPA-BDBPE with optimized parameters for large volume injection. We report on TBBPA-BDBPE and temporal and spatial trends in herring gull egg pools and individuals from 14 colony sites across the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. TBBPA-BDBPE identification was confirmed using liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry and quantification with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. TBBPA-BDBPE was quantifiable in 95% of egg pools from all colonies sampled in 2013-2017, and retrospective analysis of archived eggs (2001-2017) at 3 of the 14 colonies indicated that TBBPA-BDBPE concentrations were greater in pools from eggs collected in more recent years (

We have shown recently that levels of persistent, bioaccumulative contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and several chlorinated pesticides) are significantly higher in farmed than in wild salmon and that European farm-raised salmon have significantly greater toxic contaminant loads than those raised in North and South America. In this paper, we extend these results to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and show that farm-raised salmon have higher levels of these compounds than wild salmon. We also show that farm-raised salmon from Europe have higher PBDE levels than those raised in North America and that both European and North American farm-raised salmon have higher PBDE levels than those farm-raised in Chile. Among the species of wild salmon, chinook had significantly elevated PBDE levels relative to the other wild species. These elevated PBDE levels may be related to chinook's feeding behavior and trophic level. Among all of the wild species we studied, chinook tend to feed higher in the food web throughout their adult life and grow to be larger individuals.