Are brominated flame retardants (BFRs) Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)?
Contrary to misrepresentations, most commercially available brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are not Persistent Organic Pollutants POPs and are not on either 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).
None of the mainstream brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which are commercially available are listed as being Persistent Organic Pollutants. Only two BFRs, that have been banned in the European Union (commercial Penta-BDE and commercial Octa-BDE) and were phased out prior to the ban, are listed as POPs. HBCD has been nominated and the review is ongoing.
Equally, most BFRs are not PBT (Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic) substances since they do not fulfil 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).
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 bioacccumulative like HBCD.
... 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, HBCD and TBBPA - have a very limited potential for LRT.
