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An analytical method for detecting flame retardants was slightly modified and optimized for the simultaneous determination of 11 organophosphate esters (OPEs) and 26 polyfluoralkyl substances (PFASs) contained in dust. All the analytes were determined in HPLC/MS-MS, and OPEs were also analyzed in GC/MS, and the results were compared. The study was conducted through the investigation of the Standard Reference Material SRM 2585 of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST). The results were compared with the available reference mass fraction reported in the NIST certificate. The mass fraction obtained for the other OPEs and PFASs was compared to available data in the literature. After verifying the reliability of the results, the method was applied to environmental samples of settled dust, collected in four workplaces, where OPE and PFAS content is expected to be higher than in house dust: a mechanical workshop, an electronic repair center, a disassembly site, and a shredding site of two electronic waste recycling plants. By analyzing both PFASs and OPEs in the same samples, the present work demonstrated that the selected working places were more polluted in OPEs than houses; on the contrary, PFAS content in house dust proved to be more than ten times higher than that in workplaces. Additional research is necessary to confirm these data. Nevertheless, because this preliminary study showed not negligible concentrations of OPEs in some workplaces and of PFASs in houses, their monitoring should be extended to other domestic and selected working sites.

Inhalation of bioaerosol produces non-specific symptoms such as irritative reactions, headache, and fatigue, and human health effects such as asthma, respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, urticaria and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. The dominant biological components of air are fungal spores, bacteria and bacterial spores, ubiquitous in outdoor air, but scarcely measured due to the inadequacy of measurement methods. The use of biomarkers as tool for the determination of fungal and bacterial contribute to bioaerosol has been often suggested. In this study ergosterol, arabitol and mannitol have been associated to fungal spores, muramic acid has been associated to bacteria and dipicolinic acid has been associated to bacterial spores, as tracers. In the present work, a new analytical chemical method for the determination of this biomarkers was developed and fungal and bacterial component of aerosol was studied in suburban/rural and in urban sites. Ergosterol, arabitol, mannitol, muramic acid and dipicolinic acid content in airborne particulate matter, even at different sizes, was determined. Literature conversion factors correlating muramic acid and dipicolinic acid masses to bacteria and bacterial spores masses were applied. Literature conversion factors and new conversion factors correlating ergosterol, arabitol, and mannitol masses to fungi mass were applied and compared each other. The fungal spore concentrations obtained were different depending on the marker utilized and we deduced that in tropical regions or in very humid regions arabitol and mannitol principally come from fungal spore, especially during wet seasons. On the contrary at our latitude, that is in our meteorological condition, and dominant vegetation type arabitol and mannitol major primary emission sources are biomass burning, sea spray and plants. Therefore we conclude that, depending on the sampling area, arabitol and mannitol can overestimate fungal spore concentrations in atmosphere. Ergosterol remains the only possible biomarker and the estimated fungal concentrations in particulate matter PM10.