Organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) in human breast milk from several Asian countries

Joon Woo Kim, Tomohiko Isobe, Mamoru Muto, Nguyen Minh Tue, Kana Katsura, Govindan Malarvannan, Agus Sudaryanto, Kwang Hyeon Chang, Maricar Prudente, Pham Hung Viet, Shin Takahashi, Shinsuke Tanabe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

220 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, the concentrations of 10 organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) were determined in 89 human breast milk samples collected from Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Among the targeted PFRs, tris(2-chloroexyl) phosphate (TCEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) were the predominant compounds and were detected in more than 60% of samples in all three countries. The concentrations of PFRs in human breast milk were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the Philippines (median 70ngg-1lipidwt.) than those in Japan (median 22ngg-1lipidwt.) and Vietnam (median 10ngg-1lipidwt.). The present results suggest that the usage of products containing PFRs in the Philippines is higher than those of Japan and Vietnam. Comparing with a previous literature survey in Sweden, the levels of PFRs in human breast milk from the Philippines were 1.5-2 times higher, whereas levels in Japan and Vietnam were 4-20 times lower, suggesting that these differences might be due to their variation in the usage of flame-retarded products utilized in each country. When daily intake of PFRs to infants via human breast milk was estimated, some individuals accumulated tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) and TCEP were close to reference dose (RfD). This is the first report to identify PFRs in human breast milk samples from Asian countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)91-97
Number of pages7
JournalChemosphere
Volume116
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

  • Asia
  • Human breast milk
  • Human exposure
  • PFRs

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