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A quest to identify suitable organic tracers for estimating children's dust ingestion rates.

ABSTRACT: Chemical exposure via dust ingestion is of great interest to researchers and regulators because children are exposed to dust through their daily activities, and as a result, to the many chemicals contained within dust. Our goal was to develop a workflow to identify and rank organic chemicals that could be used as tracers to calculate children's dust ingestion rates. We proposed a set of criteria for a chemical to be considered a promising tracer. The best tracers must be (1) ubiquitous in dust, (2) unique to dust, (3) detectable as biomarkers in accessible biological samples, and (4) have available or obtainable ADME information for biomarker-based exposure reconstruction. To identify compounds meeting these four criteria, we developed a workflow that encompasses non-targeted analysis approaches, literature and database searching, and multimedia modeling. We then implemented an ad hoc grading system and ranked candidate chemicals based on fulfillment of our criteria (using one small, publicly available dataset to show proof of concept). Initially, five chemicals (1,3-diphenylguanidine, leucine, piperine, 6:2/8:2 fluorotelomer phosphate diester, 6:2 fluorotelomer phosphate diester) appeared to satisfy many of our criteria. However, a rigorous manual investigation raised many questions about the applicability of these chemicals as tracers. Based on the results of this initial pilot study, no individual compounds can be unequivocally considered suitable tracers for calculating dust ingestion rates. Future work must therefore consider larger datasets, generated from broader measurement studies and literature searches, as well as refinements to selection criteria, to identify robust and defensible tracer compounds.

SUBMITTER: Panagopoulos Abrahamsson D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7909007 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundSoil/dust ingestion rates are important variables in assessing children's health risks in contaminated environments. Current estimates are based largely on soil tracer methodology, which is limited by analytical uncertainty, small sample size, and short study duration.ObjectivesThe objective was to estimate site-specific soil/dust ingestion rates through reevaluation of the lead absorption dose-response relationship using new bioavailability data from the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (BHSS) in Idaho, USA.MethodsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in vitro bioavailability methodology was applied to archived BHSS soil and dust samples. Using age-specific biokinetic slope factors, we related bioavailable lead from these sources to children's blood lead levels (BLLs) monitored during cleanup from 1988 through 2002. Quantitative regression analyses and exposure assessment guidance were used to develop candidate soil/dust source partition scenarios estimating lead intake, allowing estimation of age-specific soil/dust ingestion rates. These ingestion rate and bioavailability estimates were simultaneously applied to the U.S. EPA Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children to determine those combinations best approximating observed BLLs.ResultsAbsolute soil and house dust bioavailability averaged 33% (SD ± 4%) and 28% (SD ± 6%), respectively. Estimated BHSS age-specific soil/dust ingestion rates are 86-94 mg/day for 6-month- to 2-year-old children and 51-67 mg/day for 2- to 9-year-old children.ConclusionsSoil/dust ingestion rate estimates for 1- to 9-year-old children at the BHSS are lower than those commonly used in human health risk assessment. A substantial component of children's exposure comes from sources beyond the immediate home environment.Citationvon Lindern I, Spalinger S, Stifelman ML, Stanek LW, Bartrem C. 2016. Estimating children's soil/dust ingestion rates through retrospective analyses of blood lead biomonitoring from the Bunker Hill Superfund Site in Idaho. Environ Health Perspect 124:1462-1470;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510144.

Project description:Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), flame retardants (FRs) have been ubiquitously detected at high concentrations in indoor environments; however, with their recent phase-out, more attention is being focused on measurements of exposure to alternative FRs such as organophosphate FRs (OPFRs). In our previous research, we found that PBDE residues measured on children's handwipes were a strong predictor of serum PBDE levels. Here we build upon this research to examine longitudinal changes in PBDEs in indoor dust and children's handwipes, and explore the associations between handwipes and dust for alternative FRs. Children from our previous study were re-contacted after approximately two years and new samples of indoor dust and handwipes were collected. PBDE dust-levels were significantly correlated between two different sampling rounds separated by two years; however, PBDE levels in handwipes were not correlated, perhaps suggesting that the sources of PBDEs remained relatively constant in the home, but that behavioral differences in children are changing with age and influencing handwipe levels. OPFRs [i.e. tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCPP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP)], 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB, also known as TBB), di(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP, also known as TBPH), and 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were also ubiquitously detected in house dust samples and geometric mean levels were similar to PBDE levels, or higher in the case of the OPFRs. Significant associations between handwipes and house dust were observed for these alternative FRs, particularly for EH-TBB (rs=0.54; p<0.001). Increasing house dust levels and age were associated with higher levels of FRs in handwipes, and high hand washing frequency (>5 times d(-1)) was associated with lower FR levels in handwipes. Overall these data suggest that exposure to these alternative FRs will be similar to PBDE exposure, and the influence of hand-to-mouth behavior in children's exposure needs to be further examined to better estimate exposure potential.

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A quest to identify suitable organic tracers for estimating children's dust ingestion rates.

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