Tetrabromobisphenol A and hexabromocyclododecane isomers in breast milk from the general population in Beijing, China: Contamination levels, temporal trends, nursing infant’s daily intake, and risk assessment

Abstract Two currently used brominated flame retardants (BFRs), α, β, γ-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), were measured in 111 breast milk samples from 37 Beijing mothers. Each mother provided one milk sample per month for 3 months. HBCDD was detected in almost all samples, and the median level reached 5.67 ng g−1 lipid weight (lw). α- HBCDD was the most abundant isomer (median: 4.23 ng g−1 lw), followed by γ- and β-HBCDD. For TBBPA, a relatively lower detecting frequency (64%) and contamination level (median: 1.57 ng g−1 lw) were obtained. A comparison to our previous study revealed that the occurrence of TBBPA and HBCDD in Beijing human milk significantly rose from 2011 to 2014, whereas another commonly used class of BFRs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), showed significantly decreased during this period. However, a comparison among currently used BFRs showed that levels of some BFRs, such as HBCDD, surpassed those of PBDEs, which indicated that PBDEs were no longer the primarily used BFR in China. However, no significant temporal trends for BFR levels were observed over the 3 months of lactation. Daily intakes of TBBPA and HBCDD were calculated for nursing infants and the median TBBPA and HBCDD intakes via breastfeeding were 6.62 and 26.4 ng kg−1 bw day−1, respectively. These values were several times higher than those for adults via food consumption. However, risk assessment using the margin of exposure approach indicated that intakes of TBBPA and HBCDD via breastfeeding can scarcely cause significant health risks to infants.