Flame Retardants for Polystyrenes in Commercial Use or Development

Bioaccumulative characteristics of hexabromocyclododecanes in freshwater species from an electronic waste recycling area in China

“…Previous studies have also found that a-HBCD was the major diastereoisomer of HBCDs in many of organisms including fish, bird, marine mammals (Weil et al, 2007;Zegers et al, 2005;Janák et al, 2005;Morris et al, 2004). These results indicate a-HBCD can be selectively accumulated in organisms.…”

“…Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) are additive brominated flame retardants (BFR) applied in extruded and high impact polystyrene materials as thermal insulation in buildings, upholstery textiles, and to a lesser extent in electronic and electrical equipment housing (Alaee et al, 2003, Weil andLevchik, 2007). As an additive type of BFR, HBCDs are not covalently bonded to the material leading to the risk of migration out of the product during use or/and disposal (Tomy et al, 2004).…”

Exposure Assessment and Health Risk of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Flame Retardants in Indoor Environments of Children’s Facilities in Korea

“…The octa-product (along with other flame retardants) can be used to treat thermoplastics such as high impact polystyrene and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers. The deca-product is used in plastic housings for electrical goods such as TVs, computers, and textiles (Weil and Levchik, 2007;Hazrati and Harrad, 2006). However, studies on PBDEs and their risk in children's facilities have rarely been conducted in South Korea, and it is difficult to determine the differences between harmful effects caused by chronic and acute exposures.…”

PBDE flame retardants

“…In rainbow trout (O. mykiss) exposed orally to BDE-209, the highest concentration of BDE-209 was measured in the liver on both a lipid normalized and body weight basis, followed by accumulation in the serum, with less accumulation in the carcass. 60 BDE-209 deposition to adipose tissues might be predicted given its low water solubility (<0.1 µg/l) and high octanol-water partitioning coefficient (log K ow; [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. 71 However, studies have shown that this pattern of preferential deposition to lipid depots does not occur substantially for BDE-209.…”

“…To achieve US fire safety standards for plastics, high impact polystyrene plastics typically contain ~10-15% of DecaBDE. 12 DecaBDE is one of two dominant BFRs used worldwide with 2007 global consumption estimated at ~73 000 t (~161 million pounds). 13,14 The production of DecaBDE was discontinued in the US at the end of 2013 under a voluntary phase-out and has been restricted from use in electronics in the European Union since 2008.…”