Multi-analyte method for the analysis of various organohalogen compounds in house dust

In the present study, a novel analytical approach for the simultaneous determination of 27 brominated flame retardants (BFRs), namely polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), isomers of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and several novel BFRs (NBFRs), together with 18 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in indoor dust was developed and validated. To achieve integrated isolation of analytes from the sample and their fractionation, a miniaturized method based on matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) was employed. Principally, after mixing the dust (<0.1 g) with the Florisil^®, the mixture was applied on the top of a sorbent (Florisil^®) placed in glass column and then analytes were eluted using solvents with different polarities. For the identification/quantification of target compounds largely differing in polarity, complementary techniques represented by gas and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS and LC–MS/MS) were used. The results of validation experiments, which were performed on the SRM 2585 material (for PBDEs, HBCDs and TBBPA), were in accordance with the certified/reference values. For other analytes (NBFRs and PFASs), the analysis of an artificially contaminated blank dust sample was realized. The method recoveries for all target compounds ranged from 81 to 122% with relative standard deviations lower than 21%. The quantification limits were in the range of 1–25 ng g⁻¹ for BFRs and 0.25–1 ng g⁻¹ for PFASs. Finally, 18 samples (6 households × 3 sampling sites) were analyzed. The high variability between concentrations of PFASs and BFRs in the dust samples from various households as well as collecting sites in a respective house was observed. The total amounts of PFASs and BFRs were in the range of 1.58–236 ng g⁻¹ (median 10.6 ng g⁻¹) and 39.2–2320 ng g⁻¹ (median 325 ng g⁻¹), respectively. It was clearly shown that dust from the indoor environment might be a significant source of human exposure to various organohalogen pollutants.