Brominated flame retardants; Toxicity and ecotoxicity

Foreword

The Danish EPA has prepared a list of substances that are undesirable in products due to their effects on man and/or the environment, in production, use and/or final disposal. Brominated flame retardants (BFR) are on this list of undesired substances. Increasing amounts of some of these substances have been detected in the marine environment (Norén, K. and Meironyté, D., 1998), and within the last few years they have been found in human breast milk and fat tissue in Sweden (Darnerud, P. O., Atuma, S., Aune, M., and Cnattingius, S., 1998, Lindström, G., Hardell, L., van Bavel, B., Wingfors, H., Sundelin, E., Liljegren, G., and Lindholm, P., 1998).

The BFR included in OECD's Risk Reduction Programme are the polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). A voluntary agreement has been made in the OECD between the producers to reduce the risks of the substances PBDE and PBB. Tris(2,3-dibrompropyl)phosphate and PBB are prohibited in the European Union in textiles intended for skin contact ("Miljø- og Energiministeriets bekendtgørelse nr. 1042 af 17. december 1997 om begrænsning af salg og anvendelse af visse farlige stoffer og produkter til specielt angivne formål. §16"). Many of the BFR have not yet been classified or restricted. The commercial PBDE products, penta-, octa- and decabromodiphenyl ether, as well as hexabromocyclododecane are undergoing risk assessment in the EU.

In Denmark, a project was started for substance flow analysis of the most frequently used BFR, including those imported in manufactured goods. Consumption, use and possibilities of substitution have been investigated.

The objective of this project is to outline the existing knowledge about the environmental and health hazards of the BFR that are relevant for Denmark, based on the preliminary result of the substance flow analysis project. The method is a data screening, which naturally does not allow full identification and thorough evaluation of all existing relevant data.