Are brominated flame retardants (BFRs) Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)?
Contrary to misrepresentations, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are not Persistent Organic Pollutants POPs and are not on the United Nations POPs list. Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemicals which would meet the 4 criteria as defined by the United Nations: Persistency (P), Bio-accumulation (B), Toxicity (T), Long Range Transport (LRT).
There are 12 substances on the UN List of POPs. None of the mainstream brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which are commercially available fulfill the criteria for being Persistent Organic Pollutants. Only two BFRs that have been banned in the European Union (Penta-BDE and Octa-BDE) are considered as potential candidates to become part of the POP list. HBCD was also nominated recently but no assessment has been undergone yet.
Equally, BFRs are not PBT (Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic) substances since they do not fulfill all of the three criteria. BFRs have to be Persistent in order to perform their function of fire resistance over long periods of time (e.g. over 30 years for insulation boards inside walls).
Please click here for more information on the UN Environment Program (UNEP).
Are brominated flame retardants (BFRs)...
... Persistent - P?
Yes, most brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are persistent, but persistence in itself is harmless. For example, a stone is persistent as it will not degrade in the environment.
Equally BFRs are designed to maintain the fire safety properties over the whole lifetime of the product they protect, thus, persistence is an essential requirement of their properties and consequently most BFRs are persistent. These properties also allow for good recyclability of these products, since the BFRs remain stable during the recycling process.
... Bio-accumulative – B?
Most brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are not bioaccumulative or in other words they do not stay or build up in human fatty tissues. Due to their high molecular weight and their low water solubility, they are not normally taken up by organisms. Only few of the many commercial BFRs are bioaccumulative like HBCD and TBBPA.
One of the main BFRs on the market called Deca-BDE, used in E&E equipment, was proven not bio-accumulative according to the World Health Organisation and the EU Risk Assessment.
... Toxic – T?
The toxicity profile of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), in contrast to other flame retardants, is relatively well understood. For more information on the environment and health properties of brominated flame retardants please click here.
... Long-Range Transportable – LRT?
Do brominated flame retardants (BFRs) undergo long-range transport?
Most brominated flame retardants (BFRs) do not. Two independent studies have assessed the potential of selected BFRs for long-range transport (LRT) – please see below. The results indicate that some of the most commonly used BFRs - DecaBDE, OctaBDE, HBCD and TBBPA - have only very limited potential for LRT. Only commercial Penta-BDE was found to undergo significant LRT. The above model calculations are confirmed by environmental monitoring data, which indicate that DecaBDE, OctaBDE, HBCD and TBBPA are mainly found near point sources.
The potential to reach remote areas is an important criterion for qualifying substances as "persistent organic pollutants" (POPs). The above results indicate that DecaBDE, OctaBDE, HBCD and TBBPA do not meet this criterion and consequently do not qualify as POPs.
