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Passive air sampling was undertaken using polyurethane foam passive air samplers at three types of locations, including indoors (six offices) at buildings in the central business district (CBD) and at a private suburban home (indoor and outdoor) located 9 km from the CBD in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Estrogenic (E-SCREEN—MCF7-BOS) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) (CAFLUX—H4G1.1c2) activity were assessed for samples collected from each of these locations. The samples were tested either as crude extracts (“untreated”) or were subjected to H2SO4 silica gel (“treated”) for each location in order to determine whether chemicals, which are not resistant to this treatment like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, potentially account for the observed activity. In most cases, H2SO4 treatment resulted in a statistically significant reduction of potency for both endpoints, suggesting that chemicals less resistant to treatment may be responsible for much of the detected biological activity in these locations. Estrogenic potency measurements (<0.22–185 pg m−3) were highest in the indoor offices, followed by the indoor suburban home and finally the outdoor suburban home (which was not estrogenic). Total AhR activity for crude extracts (1.3–10 pg m−3) however was highest for the outdoor suburban home site. Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were monitored indoors and outdoors at the suburban home. At that location, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon air concentrations were on average approximately two times higher outdoor than indoor, while AhR potency was five times higher outdoor than indoor. No significant correlation was found between the estrogenic and AhR activity ( P = 0.88) for the sites in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are compounds that are used as flame retardants. Human exposure is suggested to be via food, dust and air. An assessment of PBDE exposure via indoor environments using samples of air, dust and surface wipes from eight sites in South East Queensland, Australia was conducted. For indoor air, ¿PBDEs ranged from 0.5¿179pg/m3 for homes and 15¿487pg/m3 for offices. In dust, ¿PBDEs ranged from 87¿733 ng/g dust and 583¿3070 ng/g dust in homes and offices, respectively. PBDEs were detected on 9 out of 10 surfaces sampled and ranged from non-detectable to 5985pg/cm2. Overall, the congener profiles for air and dust were dominated by BDE-209. This study demonstrated that PBDEs are ubiquitous in the indoor environments of selected buildings in South East Queensland and suggest the need for detailed assessment of PBDE concentrations using more sites to further investigate the factors influencing PBDE exposure in Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]