{"title":"Risk assessment from potential exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) from its use in electronics","authors":"T.G. Osimitz, W. Droege","doi":"10.1016/j.fct.2025.115724","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is the most extensively used brominated flame retardant worldwide, primarily employed reactively in printed circuit boards and additively in plastic housings of electronic equipment. This study systematically evaluates human exposure to TBBPA from electronic devices and characterizes associated risks. A targeted literature review of 55 peer-reviewed studies published over the past 25 years was conducted, focusing on global TBBPA occurrence in environmental media, occupational and residential settings, and biological matrices. Exposure pathways assessed include dermal contact dust ingestion, and inhalation. Quantitative exposure estimates were generated or extracted where available and compared against established toxicological reference values, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.7 μg/kg body weight/day and a derived oral Reference Dose (RfD) of 0.26 mg/kg/day for cancer. Hazard Quotients (HQs) calculated across all exposure scenarios, including high-exposure e-waste settings, remained well below 1 indicating a low likelihood of adverse health effects. Likewise, a basic deterministic aggregate exposure assessment shows that upper bound exposure estimates for both an office worker and a worker in an electronics dismantling facility result in the Hazard Index (HI) < 1. Despite methodological variability and inherent uncertainties in exposure attribution, this risk assessment demonstrates that current exposures to TBBPA likely originating from electronic equipment are not of toxicological concern.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":317,"journal":{"name":"Food and Chemical Toxicology","volume":"206 ","pages":"Article 115724"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food and Chemical Toxicology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691525004922","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is the most extensively used brominated flame retardant worldwide, primarily employed reactively in printed circuit boards and additively in plastic housings of electronic equipment. This study systematically evaluates human exposure to TBBPA from electronic devices and characterizes associated risks. A targeted literature review of 55 peer-reviewed studies published over the past 25 years was conducted, focusing on global TBBPA occurrence in environmental media, occupational and residential settings, and biological matrices. Exposure pathways assessed include dermal contact dust ingestion, and inhalation. Quantitative exposure estimates were generated or extracted where available and compared against established toxicological reference values, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.7 μg/kg body weight/day and a derived oral Reference Dose (RfD) of 0.26 mg/kg/day for cancer. Hazard Quotients (HQs) calculated across all exposure scenarios, including high-exposure e-waste settings, remained well below 1 indicating a low likelihood of adverse health effects. Likewise, a basic deterministic aggregate exposure assessment shows that upper bound exposure estimates for both an office worker and a worker in an electronics dismantling facility result in the Hazard Index (HI) < 1. Despite methodological variability and inherent uncertainties in exposure attribution, this risk assessment demonstrates that current exposures to TBBPA likely originating from electronic equipment are not of toxicological concern.
期刊介绍:
Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT), an internationally renowned journal, that publishes original research articles and reviews on toxic effects, in animals and humans, of natural or synthetic chemicals occurring in the human environment with particular emphasis on food, drugs, and chemicals, including agricultural and industrial safety, and consumer product safety. Areas such as safety evaluation of novel foods and ingredients, biotechnologically-derived products, and nanomaterials are included in the scope of the journal. FCT also encourages submission of papers on inter-relationships between nutrition and toxicology and on in vitro techniques, particularly those fostering the 3 Rs.
The principal aim of the journal is to publish high impact, scholarly work and to serve as a multidisciplinary forum for research in toxicology. Papers submitted will be judged on the basis of scientific originality and contribution to the field, quality and subject matter. Studies should address at least one of the following:
-Adverse physiological/biochemical, or pathological changes induced by specific defined substances
-New techniques for assessing potential toxicity, including molecular biology
-Mechanisms underlying toxic phenomena
-Toxicological examinations of specific chemicals or consumer products, both those showing adverse effects and those demonstrating safety, that meet current standards of scientific acceptability.
Authors must clearly and briefly identify what novel toxic effect (s) or toxic mechanism (s) of the chemical are being reported and what their significance is in the abstract. Furthermore, sufficient doses should be included in order to provide information on NOAEL/LOAEL values.