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Deca-BDE and Alternatives in Electrical and Electronic Equipment

4 Examples of companies that have phased out Deca-BDE

• 4.1 Manufacturers of EEE
• 4.2 Major plastic suppliers

4.1 Manufacturers of EEE

A number of the major manufacturers of EEE state that they currently do not use Deca-BDE and other PBDEs in their products.

Below are statements quoted from the following major EEE brand name companies: Dell, HP, Compaq, Sony, IBM, Ericsson, Apple and Panasonic. The companies jointly cover all major product groups of consumer electronics and IT equipment.

Some of the main drivers behind Deca-BDE-free products have been eco-labels, customer requirements (e.g. “green procurement” guidelines) and compliance with the RoHS Directive and other legislation. Companies typically implement the phase-out of Deca-BDE simply by adding specifications prohibiting its use in the products and components supplied by sub-contactors, but generally the companies do not specify which flame retardants should be used as substitutes. The types of flame retardants used in products are generally considered confidential, but a typical replacement scheme would be to use copolymers together with halogen-free organo-phosphorous compounds for enclosures and other large parts, and to use other brominated flame retardants instead of Deca-BDE for the small parts (<25g) in connectors, switches, etc. In this manner, the products still meet the most strict eco-label criteria, e.g. the Nordic Swan criteria for consumer electronics and personal computers [[70]]. Whereas the Nordic Swan criteria require the entire EE device to be PBDE-free, the EU Flower eco-label accepts PBDEs in parts <25g.

The large number of major companies that have phased out Deca-BDE in their products clearly indicates that Deca-BDE-free electronic components are available on the market, and that the requirement for “Deca-BDE-free” is not an obstacle to manufacturing any EEE.

Hewlett-Packard Company
Products from the Hewlett-Packard Company include the “HP” and “Compaq” brand names. According to the web-site of Hewlett-Packard Company, "HP eliminated the use of two brominated flame retardants (BFR’s) PBB and PBDE years before they were included in the RoHS directive." [[71]]

At the Third Annual International Consortium for Fire Safety, Health and the Environment Workshop, 12-13 Sep 2005, a representative of HP stated in his presentation:
"- Since 1995, all PBBs, PBOs and PBDEs (24 CAS-numbers in total), have been phased out in our products. Note: Even if the Commission would allow decaBDE, we will not start to use it!" [[72]]

HP listed a number of drivers behind changing its environmental requirements in the E&E sector: Legislation (e.g. WEEE, RoHS, REACH), customers (e.g. public green procurement), recyclers, shareholders, employees, standardisation organisations (e.g. eco-design and Environmental Product Declarations, NGOs, media, consultants, eco-labelling organisations (EU Flower, German Blue Angel, Nordic Swan, TCO) and competition. [72]

"Examples of flame retardants that we use instead of halogens are mainly different types of organic phosphate esters, see below:

Some other possible solutions contain aluminum, manganese, zinc and red phosphorous, but a lot of work remains before we can consider any of these new alternatives as we have to be sure these meet all applicable electrical safety standards. " [[73]]

"Our expectations: - non-halogenated FR alternatives for mainly ABS, PC/ABS, PC and HIPS. AND, extensive eco-toxicological testing / data is a must for any new alternative". [72]

Dell
Dell posted on their web-site in December 2005 the document, "Dell’s Position on Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs)." [[74]] The document included the following statement:

"Since 2002, four years ahead of the EU RoHS Directive, Dell has prohibited the use of all polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl (PBDE) ethers, including DecaBDE, in our products, worldwide."

Requested how Dell managed to substitute Deca-BDE, the company answered: "The short answer to the substitution question is that we avoid the use of DecaBDE by enforcing specifications prohibiting its use and by avoiding plastics that contain this FR." [[75]]

Sony
According to Sony's Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2005, PBDEs were to be prohibited immediately in Sony's products [[76]]. Sony's "Management regulations for the environment-related substances to be controlled which are included in parts and materials," 5^th Edition of 2006, included the following statement[[77]]:

IBM
IBM's "Engineering Specification 46G3772 Baseline Environmental Requirements for Materials, Parts, and Products for IBM Logo Hardware Products," of 8 February 2006, included the following statement:
"Octa- and pentabromo diphenyl ethers are prohibited above 0.1% by mass in any Homogenous Material by EU Directive, but IBM prohibits the Intentional Addition of any PBDE in any Homogenous Material. There are no applications of PBDE permitted by IBM. IBM does not exempt decabromo diphenyl ether from this restriction." [[78]]

Ericsson
Ericsson’s "Sustainability Report 2003" stated: "Three of the substances banned by the RoHS Directive, PBB, PBDE and mercury, are included in the Ericsson list of banned substances and already phased out from new Ericsson products." [[79]]

Apple
Apple stated on their web-page (February 2006) under "Apple and the Environment - Materials Selection," the following:
" Substances Banned from Products…. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)" [[80]]

Matsushita
Products from Matsushita include, among others, the Panasonic trademark.

The "Environmental data book 2005" from the Matsushita Group included the statement: "·Discontinue immediately: Specified brominated flame retardants (PBB, PBDE)" [[81]]. Furthermore, the "Matsushita Electric Group's Chemical Substances Management Rank Guidelines" of October 2005 stated that Deca-BDE (identified by CAS. No.) is prohibited in the company’s products [[82]]. The guidelines listed 9 prohibited brominated flame retardants, and 47 different brominated flame retardants for reduction, which illustrates yet again the diversity of flame retardants used for these products.

Intel
Intel stated in their Material Declaration Data Sheets, "To the best of our knowledge, the following materials are not present in Intel products and are restricted by Intel’s Environmental Product Content Specification for Suppliers and Outsourced Manufacturers
(http://supplier.intel.com/ehs/environmental.htm ): " …. Polybrominated biphenyls and their ethers (PBB, PBDE)" [[83]].

B&O
B&O stated in a pamphlet about environmental policy "For at kunne sælge vores produkter efter juli 2006 skal de være fri for bly, cadmium, kviksølv, hexavelent chrom, PBB og PBDE. De to sidste stoffer er to bromerede flammehæmmere som typisk her været tilsat for at nedsætte brandbarheden. Disse to stoffer har vi udfaset fra alle vore produkter i begyndelsen af 90erne." [[84]] Literally translated: [In order to be able to sell our products after July 2006, they have to be free of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE. The two latter substances have typically been added in order to reduce the flammability. We have phased out these two substances from all our products at the beginning of the 1990s].

4.2 Major plastic suppliers

In Germany the association of plastics manufacturers, VKE (Verband der Kunststofferzeugenden Industrie e.V.), and the association for the textile additives industry (TEGEWA) declared in 1986 a voluntary phase-out of the use of PBDEs, including Deca-BDE (voluntary commitments from 1 Dec 1986 and 22 Dec 1986 [22]).

Likewise, a number of the major European suppliers of plastic compounds, providing a wide range of FR plastics, specifically certify that their products do not contain PBDEs in concentrations above 0.1%:

Bayer
"In common with other well-known German plastics manufacturers, we have not used any polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) or polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) in the production of flame retardant plastics since 1989." [148]

Ticona
"In addition, flame retardants containing PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) or PBBE (polybrominated biphenyl ethers) must be treated separately in the recycling process. Ticona polymers don’t contain these elements and flame retardants." [150]

BASF

[149]

Dupont
"DuPont EP is committed to full compliance with RoHS  l Use of PBDEs stopped 20 years ago."  [151]

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Version 1.0 February 2007, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency