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Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Carignan, CC; Heiger-Bernays, W; McClean, MD; Roberts, SC; Stapleton, HM; Sjödin, A; Webster, TF
Published in: Environmental science & technology
December 2013

Gymnastics training facilities contain large volumes of polyurethane foam, a material that often contains additive flame retardants such as PentaBDE. While investigations of human exposure to flame retardants have focused on the general population, potentially higher than background exposures may occur in gymnasts and certain occupational groups. Our objectives were to compare PentaBDE body burden among gymnasts to the general United States population and characterize flame retardants levels in gym equipment, air, and dust. We recruited 11 collegiate female gymnasts (ages 18-22) from one gym in the eastern United States. The geometric mean (GM) concentration of BDE-153 in gymnast sera (32.5 ng/g lipid) was 4-6.5 times higher than in the general United States population groups. Median concentrations of PentaBDE, TBB, and TBPH in paired handwipe samples were 2-3 times higher after practice compared to before, indicating the gymnasts contacted these flame retardants during practice. GM concentrations of PentaBDE, TBB, and TBPH were 1-3 orders of magnitude higher in gym air and dust than in residences. Our findings suggest that these collegiate gymnasts experienced higher exposures to PentaBDE flame retardants compared to the general United States population and that gymnasts may also have increased exposure to other additive flame retardants used in polyurethane foam such as TBB and TBPH.

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Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

December 2013

Volume

47

Issue

23

Start / End Page

13848 / 13856

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Universities
  • United States
  • Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
  • Polyurethanes
  • Humans
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
  • Gymnastics
  • Flame Retardants
  • Female
 

Citation

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Carignan, C. C., Heiger-Bernays, W., McClean, M. D., Roberts, S. C., Stapleton, H. M., Sjödin, A., & Webster, T. F. (2013). Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(23), 13848–13856. https://doi.org/10.1021/es4037868
Carignan, Courtney C., Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Michael D. McClean, Simon C. Roberts, Heather M. Stapleton, Andreas Sjödin, and Thomas F. Webster. “Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts.Environmental Science & Technology 47, no. 23 (December 2013): 13848–56. https://doi.org/10.1021/es4037868.
Carignan CC, Heiger-Bernays W, McClean MD, Roberts SC, Stapleton HM, Sjödin A, et al. Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts. Environmental science & technology. 2013 Dec;47(23):13848–56.
Carignan, Courtney C., et al. “Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts.Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 47, no. 23, Dec. 2013, pp. 13848–56. Epmc, doi:10.1021/es4037868.
Carignan CC, Heiger-Bernays W, McClean MD, Roberts SC, Stapleton HM, Sjödin A, Webster TF. Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts. Environmental science & technology. 2013 Dec;47(23):13848–13856.
Journal cover image

Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

December 2013

Volume

47

Issue

23

Start / End Page

13848 / 13856

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Universities
  • United States
  • Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
  • Polyurethanes
  • Humans
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
  • Gymnastics
  • Flame Retardants
  • Female