An Exposure Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (External Review Draft)

Notice

[12/23] EPA announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period, making the new deadline for comments February 2, 2009. [Federal Register Dec 23, 2009]

[12/4] EPA has released the draft document, as announced in the December 4, 2008 Federal Register Notice.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has formed a working group comprised of individuals from several program offices including the Offices of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances, the Office of Water, and the Office of Research and Development, Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, to study production, use, alternatives, environmental fate, exposure, and health effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). This working group issued a project plan in 2006 that outlined projects in these areas. EPA reports regularly on progress in completing the activities identified in the project plan, with the most recent status report issued in March 2008. The Web site that describes this working group, including the project plan, is http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pbde.

This document addresses the exposure assessment needs identified in that project plan. It provides a comprehensive assessment of the exposure of Americans to this class of persistent organic pollutants. Individual chapters in this document address: the production, use, and lifecycle of PBDEs; environmental fate; environmental levels; and human exposure.

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