Detection of Dechlorane Plus in Residential Indoor Dust in the City of Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

Dechlorane plus (DP), a flame retardant recently identified in the air and sediment of the Great Lakes region, has been detected in residential indoor dust in the city of Ottawa, Canada using gas chromatography−mass spectrometry under negative chemical ionization mode. DP was detected in all dust samples with a concentration range of 2.3 to 182 ng g^-1, except for one dust sample (5683 ng g^-1) which was much higher. The levels of DP in indoor dust were several times higher than those in the sediment of the Great Lakes. The presence of DP in indoor environments could have implications for potential human exposure to this chemical. The daily human intake of DP from dust was estimated using dust ingestion data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The large variation of the ratio of syn- and anti-DP isomers in the dust samples also suggests a complex degradation process of DP in the environment.