Comment on 'Brominated Flame Retardants in Children's Toys: Concentration, Composition, and Children's Exposure and Risk Assessment'

摘要

Chen et al. (1) reported detection of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (i.e., polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs),decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE). 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane, and polybrominated biphenyls], in childrens' toys purchased in China. We wish to raise several important issues about this work, as discussed below.rnFirst, the authors assumed that flame retardant additives were present in the "...plastic, rubber, textile, or stuffing material of these toys". The levels reported by Chen et al. (1), however, are too low to have offered any flame retardancy. For example, DBDPE concentrations in the hard plastic toys ranged from nondetectable to 117,006 ng/g, with PBDE-209 having the highest concentration at 4,231,832 ng/g (1). Both of these BFRs require a minimal level of 100,000,000 ng/g to flame retard (e.g., V-0 high impact polystyrene); therefore, it is unclear why these compounds were detected in the matrices evaluated.