Methods of Responsibly Managing End-of-Life Foams and Plastics Containing Flame Retardants: Part I

Abstract

Flame retardants (FRs) are added to foams and plastics to comply with flammability standards and test requirements in products for household and industrial uses. When these regulations were implemented, potential health and environmental impacts of FR use were not fully recognized or understood. Extensive research in the past decades reveal that exposure to halogenated FRs, such as those used widely in furniture foam, is associated with and/or causally related to numerous health effects in animals and humans. While many of the toxic FRs have been eliminated and replaced by other FRs, existing products containing toxic or potentially toxic chemical FRs will remain in use for decades, and new products containing these and similar chemicals will permeate the environment. When such products reach the end of their useful life, proper disposal methods are needed to avoid health and ecological risks. To minimize continued human and environmental exposures to hazardous FR chemicals from discarded products, waste management technologies and processes must be improved. This review discusses a wide range of issues associated with all aspects of the use and responsible disposal of wastes containing FRs, and identifies basic and applied research needs in the areas of responsible collection, pretreatment, processing, and management of these wastes.

Degradation of the Polymeric Brominated Flame Retardant “Polymeric FR” by Heat and UV Exposure

“…Insulation products are often installed below a roof and in consequence face rather high temperatures during summer, which could lead to degradation of the incorporated BFR after a certain period. If these products are brought to landfill after their use as insulation material they might be exposed to heat again and in addition monomers deriving from the polymeric BFR could end up in the environment through water or attached to particles via air. , It should be noted that these possible ways of environmental contamination very much depend on national regulations and available technologies for recycling. Alternatively, incineration of foam based insulation products is regularly used. , Also, chemical recycling of EPS/XPS seems to be a possibility for the future .…”

“…If these products are brought to landfill after their use as insulation material they might be exposed to heat again and in addition monomers deriving from the polymeric BFR could end up in the environment through water or attached to particles via air. 13,14 It should be noted that these possible ways of environmental contamination very much depend on national regulations and available technologies for recycling. Alternatively, incineration of foam based insulation products is regularly used.…”

A Review of a Class of Emerging Contaminants: The Classification, Distribution, Intensity of Consumption, Synthesis Routes, Environmental Effects and Expectation of Pollution Abatement to Organophosphate Flame Retardants (OPFRs)

“…However, the amount and type of FRs may alter the removal processes, thus FRs cannot simply be added to the processes, and it has turned out that converting demonstration and laboratory-scale units into industrial systems is difficult [169]. In addition, halogenated FRs introduce the potential for toxic byproducts, including halogenated dioxins and furans and thermal treatment may reduce the need for reuse and recycling [174]. Therefore, the thermal treatment methods for removing FRs are not an optimal option.…”

Addressing systemic problems with exposure assessments to protect the public’s health

“…Exposure assessments are also important for determining the extent to which policy interventions may have achieved progress (e.g., in evaluations of the health risks remaining after the implementation of national air toxics emission standards for major industrial polluters such as coal-fired power plants [ 13 ]) or where further intervention is needed (e.g. in the evaluation of regrettable substitutes such as the replacement of bisphenol A (BPA) with other bisphenol analogues [ 14 ] or polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)-based flame retardants with other toxic flame retardants [ 15 ]). Second, as noted above, evaluation of exposures is a critical component of risk assessments, which utilize exposure data to determine risks in the general population or specific subpopulations.…”