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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Food Animal Metabolism Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #235601
Title: Brominated flame retardants as food contaminants

Author
item COVACI, ADRIAN - U OF ANTWERP, BELGIUM
item VOORSPOELS, STEFAN - EUROPEAN COMMISSION, BELG
item D'SILVA, KYLE - WATERS CORP. UK
item Huwe, Janice
item HARRAD, STUART - U OF BIRMINGHAM, UK

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2007
Publication Date: 8/29/2008
Citation: Covaci, A., Voorspoels, S., D'Silva, K., Huwe, J.K., Harrad, S. 2008. Brominated flame retardants as food contaminants IN Wilson & Wilson's Comprehensive Analytical Chemistry, Food Contaminants and Residue Analysis, Vol 51:507-570.

Interpretive Summary: This book chapter reviews and summarizes the scientific literature available on assaying for three types of chemicals used as flame retardants in the United States. Each of these chemicals demonstrates some degree of toxicity in animal systems and can be found throughout the environment. Regulatory actions have limited the release of some of these chemicals into the environment, but they continue to circulate in the environment and are present in animals and humans. Because of the differences in physical and chemical properties of these chemicals and the complex environmental and biological matrices in which they are found, a wide variety of assaying methods have been reported in the literature. The details of many of these methods are described together with the advantages and shortcomings of each. Other discussions in the book chapter cover the levels of these chemicals found in foods around the world and estimates of human dietary exposure to these chemicals.

Technical Abstract: This book chapter reviews analytical methods for the three major brominated flame retardant (BFR) classes in use today, tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP-A), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a "legacy" BFR no longer in use, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and a class of potentially toxic by-products of certain BFRs, polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs). Each class of compounds has demonstrated some degree of toxicity in animal systems and, therefore, have been subjected to regulatory actions, monitoring programs, or further risk assessments. The different physical and chemical properties of these classes of compounds and the complex environmental and biological matrices in which they are found have led to the development of a wide variety of analytical approaches for both sample preparation and instrumental analysis. Details of numerous analytical methods are described as well as their advantages and shortcomings. The discussion covers extraction, cleanup, fractionation, chromatography conditions and separations, detection, and quality control/quality assurance aspects of the methods. Finally, the levels of each class of BFR found in food and estimates of dietary exposure are reviewed for North and South America, Europe, and Asia.