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Myrto Petreas,¹ Jianwen She,¹ F. Reber Brown,¹ Jennifer Winkler,^1,2 Gayle Windham,³ Evan Rogers,^2,4 Guomao Zhao,^2,4 Rajiv Bhatia,⁵ and M. Judith Charles⁴

¹Hazardous Materials Laboratory, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, California, USA; ²Public Health Institute, Berkeley, California, USA; ³Environmental Health Investigations Branch, Department of Health Services, Oakland, California, USA; ⁴Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, California, USA; ⁵San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, California, USA

Abstract

Following our first report on elevated polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations in California women, we expanded our investigation to include diverse groups of local women. We analyzed additional adipose and serum samples collected in the late 1990s from San Francisco Bay Area women participating in a breast cancer study and in a reproductive study, respectively. Adipose samples (n = 32) were analyzed by low-resolution mass spectrometry in negative-ion chemical ionization mode, whereas serum samples (n = 50) were analyzed by dual-column gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The results confirmed our earlier findings. Concentrations of 2,2´,4,4´-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) in contemporary California women ranged between 5 and 510 ng/g lipid, with a median (16.5 ng/g lipid) 3-10 times higher than those reported from Europe. In contrast, PBDEs were not measurable in any of 420 archived serum samples collected in the 1960s from San Francisco Bay Area women participating in a study of child development. BDE-47 concentrations did not increase with age or with concentrations of a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB-153) , suggesting other routes of exposure in addition to diet. Rising body burdens of endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as PBDEs may pose a potential public health threat. Key words: adipose tissue, BDE-47, body burdens, California, PBDEs, persistent organic pollutants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, serum, time trends. Environ Health Perspect 111:1175-1179 (2003) .