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Air concentrations of PBDEs on in-flight airplanes and assessment of flight crew inhalation exposure

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 337–342 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

To address the knowledge gaps regarding inhalation exposure of flight crew to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on airplanes, we measured PBDE concentrations in air samples collected in the cabin air at cruising altitudes and used Bayesian Decision Analysis (BDA) to evaluate the likelihood of inhalation exposure to result in the average daily dose (ADD) of a member of the flight crew to exceed EPA Reference Doses (RfDs), accounting for all other aircraft and non-aircraft exposures. A total of 59 air samples were collected from different aircraft and analyzed for four PBDE congeners—BDE 47, 99, 100 and 209 (a subset were also analyzed for BDE 183). For congeners with a published RfD, high estimates of ADD were calculated for all non-aircraft exposure pathways and non-inhalation exposure onboard aircraft; inhalation exposure limits were then derived based on the difference between the RfD and ADDs for all other exposure pathways. The 95th percentile measured concentrations of PBDEs in aircraft air were <1% of the derived inhalation exposure limits. Likelihood probabilities of 95th percentile exposure concentrations >1% of the defined exposure limit were zero for all congeners with published RfDs.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine through the National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research (ACER)/Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE), Cooperative Agreements 07-C-RITE-HU and 04-C-ACE-HU. Although the FAA has sponsored this project, it neither endorses nor rejects the findings of this research. Results of Cooperative Research between the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, and Battelle Memorial Institute. We thank the participating airlines for their invaluable support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Joseph G Allen, Jose Vallarino & John D Spengler

  2. Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, USA

    Ann Louise Sumner, Marcia G Nishioka & Douglas J Turner

  3. Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

    Hannah K Saltman

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  1. Joseph G Allen
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Correspondence to Joseph G Allen.

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Allen, J., Sumner, A., Nishioka, M. et al. Air concentrations of PBDEs on in-flight airplanes and assessment of flight crew inhalation exposure. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 337–342 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.62

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