CAREER: Emission and Transport of PBDEs in Indoor Environments

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CBET-1150713 XuPolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) that are used extensively as flame retardants in consumer products and building materials in the U.S. Although significant indoor exposures and adverse health effects have been confirmed, effective strategies to limit exposures to PBDEs remain hamstrung by our poor understanding of their sources and fate in indoor environments. The goal of this CAREER development plan is to explicitly elucidate the fundamental mechanisms governing the emission and transport of PBDEs in indoor environments. Specific research objectives are to: 1) develop a novel, rapid, micro-chamber method to characterize emissions of PBDEs from consumer products; 2) determine the sorptive interactions of PBDEs with indoor particles and surfaces through systematic laboratory studies; 3) develop PBDE indoor transport models that include the processes of emission, sorption, desorption and particle transport; 4) conduct a series of controlled tests in large-scale chambers to validate the transport models; and 5) apply the models and knowledge obtained from the laboratory to a variety of indoor environments through field measurements. This CAREER project will combine cutting-edge laboratory experiments, analytical modeling and field studies in a coherent way to explicitly elucidate the fundamental mechanisms governing the emission and transport of PBDEs in indoor environments. The PI will be the first to: develop a novel and rapid micro-chamber method to measure key parameters that control PBDE emissions; accurately measure PBDE gas/particle partitioning using an innovative direct SPME-NTD approach; and apply the new fate and transport model to explain the results of field measurements to a variety of indoor environments. In addition, the PI will connect the mechanistic understanding of emissions to the previously ignored strong sorption by particles and interior surfaces. This project will significantly advance our ability to predict emission, fate and transport, and exposure to semi-volatile EDCs ? as PBDEs represent only one of a vast array of semi-volatile EDCs that are released into our living environments.This CAREER project addresses contaminants that disproportionately affect fetuses and children, leading to lifelong illnesses and disabilities. The fundamental approach to predict emissions and transport of PBDEs can almost certainly be generalized to a wide range of other semivolatile EDCs emitted from a host of materials and products found in homes, schools, offices, cars, and factories. The new mechanistic understanding will enable effective design of green materials because the chemical and material properties that govern emissions are clearly understood. It will be of value to architects and engineers who wish to specify low-emitting materials for use in green buildings; allow the use of validated models for developing standards of product environmental performance or green labels; and permit health professionals to estimate exposure and risk associated with PBDEs for a wide range of environmental scenarios.