Plasma Concentrations of Selected Organobromine Compounds and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Postmenopausal Women of Quebec, Canada

BackgroundBrominated flame retardants, especially polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have been widely used in North America, but little is known about the level of exposure of human populations to these compounds.ObjectivesWe set out to assess the internal exposure of postmenopausal Canadian women to selected organobromine compounds and to investigate factors associated with this exposure.MethodsWe measured concentrations of four PBDEs, one polybrominated biphenyl, and for comparative purposes, 41 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in plasma samples from 110 healthy postmenopausal women who were recruited at a mammography clinic in 2003–2004.ResultsPBDE-47 was the major PBDE congener, with a mean (geometric) concentration of 8.1 ng/g lipids and extreme values reaching 1,780 ng/g. By comparison, the mean concentration of the major PCB congener (PCB-153) was 41.7 ng/g and the highest value was 177 ng/g. PBDEs 47, 99, and 100 were strongly intercorrelated, but weaker correlations were noted with P...