Abstract
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are used in electrical and electronic products. We have therefore investigated PBDEs in indoor ambient and found the concentration of PBDEs in indoor air (avg. = 123 pg/m3，54.3 ~ 227 pg/m3) is higher than those in outdoor air (avg. = 46.0 pg/m3，32.3 ~ 72.6 pg/m3). The concentration of PBDEs in indoor dust from working environment (avg. = 3567 ng/gw，160 ~ 9763 ng/gw) is higher than those from housing environment (avg. = 2320 ng/gw，91.7 ~ 16123 ng/gw). We also found that the adults exposure to PBDEs in air (avg. = 29.7 pg/kg-d，19.1 ~ 50.6 pg/kg-d) is lower than the children(avg. = 49.9 pg/kg-d，29.0 ~ 91.1 pg/kg-d). The adults exposure to PBDEs in indoor dust (avg. = 3.60 ng/kg-d，0.44 ~ 18.9 ng/kg-d) is also lower than the children (avg. = 28.8 ng/kg-d，1.10 ~ 199.7 ng/kg-d). The exposure to PBDEs in indoor dust is 100 ~ 1000 times higher than that in air. The concentration of and human exposure to PBDEs in air and indoor dust in Taiwan are lower than most industrial countries. This study didn’t find clear relationship between PBDEs in indoor air and commercial brominated flame retardants (BFR) materials. Instead, a relationship between indoor dust and BFR materials was observed. However, the relationship between indoor dust and commercial products was not observed.