Cat serum contamination by phthalates, PCBs, and PBDEs versus food and indoor air

A wide variety of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) with semi-volatile properties are emitted to indoor air and, thus, humans might get exposed to these compounds. Pet cats spend the major part of their lifetime at home and might integrate indoor contamination so that they could mirror the human exposure. Three classes of EDCs, polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phthalates (PAEs), were simultaneously considered and quantified in the serum of cats (Felis silvestris catus) living in the Paris area (France). The main compound concentrations by decreasing importance order were as follows: for PAEs, di-n-butyl phthalate (79,900 ng L−1) next di-iso-butyl phthalate (53,200 ng L−1), di-iso-nonyl phthalate (43,800 ng L−1), and di-ethylhexyl phthalate (32,830 ng L−1); for PCBs, CB153 (1378 ng L−1) next CB52 (509 ng L−1), CB101 (355 ng L−1), CB110 (264 ng L−1), and CB118 (165 ng L−1); and for PBDEs, BDE 153/154 (35 ng L−1) next BDE47 (10.7 ng L−1). Total serum concentrations as mean ± standard deviation were 107 ± 98 μg L−1 for ∑9PAEs, 2799 ± 944 ng L−1 for ∑19PCBs, and 56 ± 21 ng L−1 for ∑9BDEs. The three chemical groups were found in cat food: 0.088 ng g−1 for ∑9BDEs, 1.7 ng g−1 for ∑19PCBs, and 2292 ng g−1 for ∑9PAEs and in indoor air: 0.063 ng m−3 for ∑9BDEs, 1.5 ng m−3 for ∑19PCBs, and 848 ng m−3 for ∑9PAEs. Contaminant intake by food ingestion was approximately 100-fold higher than that by indoor air inhalation.