Science News - October 13, 2004

Deca in humans

The world’s most widely used polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardant, Deca, may be entering people’s bodies through a different route than other PBDE flame retardants, according to a report released in late September by Northwest Environment Watch, a nonprofit group. The report presents analyses conducted by the California EPA’s Hazardous Materials Laboratory of breast milk from women living in the Pacific Northwest sections of North America. BDE-209, a brominated compound in the Deca flame retardant formulation—the only PBDE formulation that will be used in the United States and Europe after 2005—was found in 24 of the 40 tested samples. The highest levels in this study, 4 parts per billion, were comparable to the highest levels previously reported for anyone: those found in Swedish electronics workers occupationally exposed to the compound. The levels of BDE-209 were not correlated with the total PBDE levels found in the tested milk, according to the report. The report’s authors also speculate that “it is possible that some of the lower-brominated PBDE congeners detected in this study originated as [Deca-BDE],” hinting that the Deca is being broken down by the environment or by the body.