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Rawn et al. J Environ Expo Assess 2024;3:16 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jeea.2024.04 Page 9 of 17

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Table 2. Concentrations (ng·g lipid) of selected PBDE congeners, total PBDEs (Σ20 congeners) and α-, β- and γ-HBCD and Σ (α-, β-,
γ-) HBCD in human milk (2008-2011)
Detection
Congener Minimum Maximum Median Geometric mean Arithmetic mean Standard deviation
frequency (%)
PBDE 28 100 0.0001 7.45 0.550 0.566 0.835 0.901
PBDE 47 100 0.005 145 7.44 7.97 13.6 19.6
PBDE 99 100 0.006 55.6 1.09 1.28 2.83 6.14
PBDE 100 100 0.001 20.3 1.17 1.27 2.29 3.17
PBDE 153 99.3 < MDL (0.004) 57.5 2.01 2.41 5.03 8.22
PBDE 154 99.3 < MDL (0.003) 1.93 0.077 0.084 0.157 0.264
PBDE 183 98.0 < MDL (0.001) 2.78 0.043 0.043 0.082 0.201
PBDE 209 70.5 < MDL (0.001) 85.3 0.083 0.071 0.635 5.08
ΣPBDE 1 100 0.071 267 15.6 16.8 26.5 33.2
α-HBCD 93.3 < MDL (0.004) 7.26 0.271 0.247 0.425 0.655
β-HBCD 9.7 < MDL (0.001) 0.801 0.006 0.008 0.024 0.084
γ-HBCD 28.5 < MDL (0.001) 6.39 0.010 0.012 0.097 0.454
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ΣHBCD 94.0 < MDL (0.010) 7.66 0.303 0.316 0.547 0.871
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Sum of 20 congeners: 15, 17, 28, 37, 47, 66, 71, 75, 77, 85, 99, 100, 119, 138, 153, 154, 160, 183, 190, and 209 (PBDE 126, 181, and 205 have been
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removed due to low detectability). Sum of α-HBCD, β-HBCD, and γ-HBCD. PBDE: Polybrominated diphenyl ether; HBCD:
hexabromocyclododecane; MDL: method detection limit.

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Figure 3. α-, β- γ-HBCD and Σ(α-, β-, γ-) HBCD concentrations (ng·g lipid) in human milk samples. Box indicates 25th, 50th (median),
and 75th percentiles. Points indicate data outside of the 10th and 90th percentiles. HBCD: Hexabromocyclododecane.
Relationships between compounds
Strong Spearman correlations were found between the concentrations of each of the dominant, lower
brominated PBDE congeners (tri- through penta-: 28, 47, 99 and 100) observed in Canadian human milk.
While the concentrations of these lower brominated congeners were strongly correlated with each other
(P > 0.790), the relationship was much weaker between these congeners and the hexabrominated PBDE 153
[Table 3]. In contrast, PBDE 209 concentrations were not well correlated with any of the other congeners
having important contributions to ΣPBDEs (i.e., 28, 47, 99, 100, 153). This difference aligns with the broader
usage of the decabromodiphenyl ether in consumer products, which extended beyond the applications of