Objective: This study was conducted to characterize polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) load in human serum of Taiyuan city in 2010.
Methods: A total of 42 blood samples were collected in Taiyuan city, 2010. Solid-phase extraction (SPE)-gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry method was used to measure the concentration of brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE)-17, BDE-28, BDE-47, BDE-66, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, BDE-154, BDE-183 and BDE-209 and ΣPBDEs was calculated.
Results: Of the tested serum samples, ΣPBDEs ranged from 2.09 to 66.74 ng/g of lipid weight (lw), the median and mean was 6.32 ng/g lw and 9.84 ng/g lw, respectively. BDE-209 was the main source of ΣPBDEs and its concentration ranged from no detection to 64.99 ng/g lw, the median was 4.11 ng/g lw, accounting for 67.6% of ΣPBDEs. Second source was BDE-153 and its concentration ranged from 0.29 to 4.92 ng/g lw, the median was 0.62 ng/g lw accounting for 10.1% of ΣPBDEs.
Conclusion: The overall load of PBDEs in the serum of local residents was low in 2010.