Assessing hair for human biomonitoring: comparison of organophosphorus flame-retardant levels in hair, urine and blood from the same individuals
Abstract
Total exposure assessment can be performed through biological monitoring. While blood and urine are commonly used matrices, hair represents an innovative alternative due to its ease of collection and its ability to reflect long term exposure. However, its applicability remains limited by insufficient data and unclear performance. In this study, hair, serum, and urine samples from 62 adults were analyzed for ten organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs). Detection frequencies, concentration levels, and relationships between matrices were evaluated using descriptive statistics, correlation, and clustering analyses. The effects of hair washing and urinary dilution corrections were also assessed. A greater number of compounds were detected in hair (7 compounds) compared to urine (5 metabolites only) and serum (2 compounds), indicating higher sensitivity of hair for OPFR detection. Hair concentrations were independent of gender, and strongly correlated between washed and unwashed samples, although washing significantly reduced measured levels for parent OPFRs. Importantly, no significant correlations were observed between hair and urine (DPP, BCEP) or serum (TCPP), suggesting that hair reflects different exposure information rather than duplicating conventional matrices. These findings demonstrate that hair provides complementary and more comprehensive exposure information, supporting its use alongside urine and serum to improve OPFR biomonitoring in epidemiological studies.
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BibTeX
@article{lallmahomed2026assessing,
title = {{Assessing hair for human biomonitoring: comparison of organophosphorus flame-retardant levels in hair, urine and blood from the same individuals}},
author = {Ashna Lallmahomed and Fabien Mercier and Nathalie Costet and Kahina Slimani and Thi Phuong Thao Dao and Marie Pécheux and Vincent Bessonneau and Arthur David and Nathalie Bonvallot and Barbara Le Bot},
journal = {Environment International},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.envint.2026.110545},
url = {https://ehesp.hal.science/hal-05774102v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessing hair for human biomonitoring: comparison of organophosphorus flame-retardant levels in hair, urine and blood from the same individuals
AU - Ashna Lallmahomed
AU - Fabien Mercier
AU - Nathalie Costet
AU - Kahina Slimani
AU - Thi Phuong Thao Dao
AU - Marie Pécheux
AU - Vincent Bessonneau
AU - Arthur David
AU - Nathalie Bonvallot
AU - Barbara Le Bot
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Environment International
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2026.110545
UR - https://ehesp.hal.science/hal-05774102v1
AB - Total exposure assessment can be performed through biological monitoring. While blood and urine are commonly used matrices, hair represents an innovative alternative due to its ease of collection and its ability to reflect long term exposure. However, its applicability remains limited by insufficient data and unclear performance. In this study, hair, serum, and urine samples from 62 adults were analyzed for ten organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs). Detection frequencies, concentration levels, and relationships between matrices were evaluated using descriptive statistics, correlation, and clustering analyses. The effects of hair washing and urinary dilution corrections were also assessed. A greater number of compounds were detected in hair (7 compounds) compared to urine (5 metabolites only) and serum (2 compounds), indicating higher sensitivity of hair for OPFR detection. Hair concentrations were independent of gender, and strongly correlated between washed and unwashed samples, although washing significantly reduced measured levels for parent OPFRs. Importantly, no significant correlations were observed between hair and urine (DPP, BCEP) or serum (TCPP), suggesting that hair reflects different exposure information rather than duplicating conventional matrices. These findings demonstrate that hair provides complementary and more comprehensive exposure information, supporting its use alongside urine and serum to improve OPFR biomonitoring in epidemiological studies.
SN - 0160-4120
ER -