Current background human exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers: a review.

INTRODUCTION: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants for years, until they were banned following their inclusion in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001). The chemical and physical properties of PBDEs determine their ability to spread and accumulate in the environment and bioaccumulate along food chains. More than 90% of total human exposure to PBDEs comes from food. Chronic exposure to PBDEs can cause hepatotoxic, thyrotoxic, neurotoxic, genotoxic, immunotoxic, developmental toxic and potential carcinogenic effects in humans. Although the ban began decades ago, PBDEs are still present in various environmental matrices.

METHOD: This review aims to assess the current picture of human exposure to PBDEs by collecting and evaluating data from human biomonitoring studies available worldwide over the last 10 years.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of chosen papers suggests that levels of BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100 and BDE-153 have a global unclear trend, depending on the geographical area in question in the last ten years.