Kortlægning af kemiske stoffer i forbrugerprodukter, 80 – Kortlægning af decabromodiphenylether (decaBDE) i andre produkter end elektriske og elektroniske produkter

Kortlægning af decabromodiphenylether (decaBDE) i andre produkter end elektriske og elektroniske produkter

Summary and conclusions

DecaBDE is not produced in Denmark. However, in theory the compound may enter the Danish market through import of the chemical itself, as part of semi-finished products, or as a component in in finished products. All three methods are investigated separately.

Information on imported chemicals and semi-finished products was collected through public registers and contacting trade organizations, while information on import of finished products was collected through the same channels, and supplemented by contact to companies associated with relevant sectors. A detailed questionnaire was sent to approximately 1,000 Danish companies with questions relating to decaBDE content in imported products, knowledge of alternatives, trends, and so on.

The information collected has documented decaBDE imports within a number of sectors.

Five tonnes of the compound as a chemical agent or part of semi-finished products has been documented. The documented cases have all been imports by the plastics industry. The investigation has proven that the major part is re-exported after processing. Import seems connected to isolated specialized contracts and no indications were determined that decaBDE is used regularly in Danish production.

Data for imports of chemical agents or semi-finished products are considered valid and credible for Danish imports from these channels.

As part of finished products, decaBDE has been detected in tents, cars, and heat-shrink tubing. Import of decaBDE has not been detected in product groups such as upholstered furniture, bedroom articles, cables, furnishing fabrics, glue, nursing articles, baby and children’s articles, paints and joint fillers.

Information on decaBDE import as part of a finished product is subject to considerable uncertainty. This uncertainty is attached to the selection of product groups, response rate from companies, and the fact that many of the companies in question are unaware of a potential decaBDE content in their products.

It is considered that because the investigation was so broad, it is unlikely that there are large product groups using decaBDE that have not been covered. However, the response rate and the lack of knowledge about the products’ content are a great problem. This raises the question of whether it is possible at this stage to gain an accurate scenario of imports in finished products.

During the project there were many contacts to companies and centres of excellence. The obtained knowledge as compared to conclusions in previously published investigations indicates that the greatest uncertainty is attached to the results within the area of imported means of transport (cars) and upholstered furniture.

The mapping provides information on the fact that generally there are attempts to replace decaBDE with other fire-retardant compounds or other methods. The general impression from the investigation is that there is no demand for products with decaBDE fire-retardant properties in Denmark. In 1999 the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the use of decaBDE seemed to be declining. This investigation confirms this assumption.