| Abstract: | Health disparities still exist in rural Appalachian coal mining communities and environmental pollution from activities of the mining industry can contribute to population health inequities.We used passive air samplers using polyurethane (PAS-PUFs) to investigate the levels of BFRs and OPEs in indoor air and silicone wristbands to examine personal exposure to these chemicals in 8 communities in central Appalachia. PAS-PUFs were deployed indoors for 30 days in 101 residential homes during March 2017 – July 2018. One resident in each of these homes wore a silicone wristband for 7 days. The median total concentrations for PBDEs, nBFRs, and OPEs were 211, 58.5, and 24,107 pg/m3 in PAS-PUFs and 50.5, 115, and 2,818 ng/g wristband in wristbands, respectively. The most abundant chemicals in both air and wristbands were BDE-47 and BDE-99 among PBDEs, 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (BEHTBP) among nBFRs, and tris[(2R)-1-chloro-2-propyl] phosphate (TCIPP) and tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) among OPEs. In multiple regression analysis, higher levels of self-reported illness symptoms were associated with higher PBDEs in PUFs. |
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