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Distribution Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers Among Demographic Categories, Giorvanni Merilis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants widely used within the United States in various products such as plastics, electronics, textiles and furniture. With an increase in production and usage, PBDEs have recently emerged as a contaminant of concern. Due to their chemical structure, PBDEs have the propensity to bioaccumulate in mammals. In fact, elevated PBDE concentrations have been recorded in human breast milk. Due to the potential widespread exposure to PBDEs, this study investigates human blood concentrations of PBDEs generated through the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Through the use of statistical modeling, a comparison of mean …