Organohalogenated Flame Retardants and Organophosphate Esters in Office Air and Dust from Sweden

A wide range of organohalogenated flame retardants (HFRs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) were measured in air and floor dust from 10 offices in Stockholm, Sweden. Concentrations of ∑18 emerging HFRs, ∑21 legacy HFRs and ∑11 OPEs from the offices were found to be 420, 510, and 1600000 ng/g, respectively, in floor dust and 400, 15, and 160 000 pg/m 3 respectively in active air samples. All targeted compounds were detected in dust except 2,3,5,6-tetrabromo- p -xylene (pTBX) indicating widespread application of a broad range of FRs in the Swedish offices while only 54% of targeted compounds were detected in indoor air. Estimated ∑OPE exposure in Swedish offices is 3–4 orders of magnitude higher than for ∑emerging HFRs and ∑legacy HFRs via all three different exposure routes in our study. Adult’s estimated intakes of emerging and legacy HFRs and OPEs from office air and dust during working hours (30% of a day) are some orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding reference doses (RfD). However, in worst case exposure scenarios (maximum concentrations and high dust intake), the intake of tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) was one-third of its RfD, which may be of potential concern if exposure is as high in other microenvironments.