To Örebro University

The envelope of low-energy buildings is generally constructed with significant amounts of plastics, sealants and insulation materials that are known to contain various chemical additives to improve specific functionalities. A commonly used group of additives are flame retardants to prevent the spread of fire. In this study, decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) and fourteen emerging brominated flame retardants (BFRs) were analyzed in indoor dust, air and on the window surface of newly built low-energy preschools to study their occurrence and distribution. BDE-209 and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were frequently detected in the indoor dust (BDE-209: <4.1-1200 ng/g, DBDPE: <2.2-420 ng/g) and on window surfaces (BDE-209: <1000-20 000 pg/m² , DBDPE: <34-5900 pg/m² ) while the other thirteen BFRs were found in low levels (dust: <0.0020-5.2 ng/g, window surface: 0.0078-35 pg/m² ). In addition, the detection frequencies of BFRs in the indoor air were low in all preschools. Interestingly, the dust levels of BDE-209 and DBDPE were found to be lower in the environmentally certified low-energy preschools, which could be attributed to stricter requirements on the chemical content in building materials and products. However, an increase of some BFR levels in dust was observed which could imply continuous emissions or introduction of new sources.