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BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANTS (BFRs) IN ELECTRONICS
70 different BFRs are used as fireproofing in electronic equipment, circuit boards, computer casings, building materials, cables, textiles, furniture and car seats. These fire retardants are known to be toxic to humans. Yet, since the 1970s, the electronics industry has been one of the largest consumers of BFRs, relying on this class of chemicals to meet fire safety standards. Computer manufacturers can prevent unnecessary risk to human health by using safer alternatives that meet stringent fire standards in the United States.
Health Effects of BFRs
Brominated flame retardants known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) are persistent in the environment and bioaccumulative, building up in people's bodies over a lifetime and levels increase along the food chain. In minute doses they and other brominated fire retardants impair attention, learning, memory and behavior in laboratory animals. PBDEs are now found as residues in sediments, wildlife (marine mammals, fish and bird eggs) and humans (milk, serum and adipose tissue) and can disrupt the hormone and reproductive systems. DecaBDE is one of the most widely used PBDE fire retardant chemicals in the electronics industry.
Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) in the Home
In the first nationwide tests for brominated fire retardants in house dust, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found unexpectedly high levels of these neurotoxic chemicals in every home sampled. Click Here to go to the EWG BFR Report.
EWG's test results indicate that consumer products, not industrial releases, are the most likely sources of the rapid buildup of PBDEs in people, animals and the environment, which has been documented by tests from Europe to the Arctic. Scientists now recognize that indoor environmental contamination, including contaminants accumulating in household dust, pose a substantial health risk to the population. The findings raise concerns that children may ingest significant amounts of toxic fire retardants via dust, and indicate that the impending federal phase-out of two PBDEs doesn't go far enough to protect Americans.
Europe is Ahead of the U.S. in Eliminating BFRs
Recognizing the threat to human health, the EU passed the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. Under RoHS, electronics manufacturers will have to cease using lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, or the brominated flame retardants PBDE and PBB, in products marketed from July 1, 2006. Click Here to Learn More about chemical policy in Europe.
U.S. Chemical Regulation Lags in Spite of High Levels of Human Exposure
In spite of the research showing that North America women have the highest levels globally of BFRs in breast milk, the United States lags behind Europe in reducing such exposure. Levels are doubling every two to five years in the North American population and evidence continues to mount about their effect on the neurological, endocrine and reproductive systems. Two of the three main PBDE products in use, Penta and Octa, were taken off the U.S. market at the end of 2004. However, the fire retardants industry has strongly resisted the regulation of the third product, Deca, maintaining that it is not harmful despite mounting evidence that shows Deca is toxic, detected widely in the environment and can break down to more harmful forms, including those being phased out.
Policy Recommendations on Chemical Reform
- State and federal governments should make the phase out of decaBDE and all other PBDEs a priority.
- Governments should require that all brominated flame retardants are replaced with safer non-halogenated alternatives.
- State and federal governments should implement recycling guidelines for electronic products to ensure that brominated flame retardants are not continually put into new products.
- States should require electronic manufacturers to take back products for reuse and recycling to encourage better product design.
- Government purchasing guidelines should include criteria for electronic products that do not contain PBDEs and phases out other brominated flame retardants.
- Federal and state governments need to implement new chemical policies. Such policies would require safer substitutes and the phase-out of persistent, bioaccumulative or highly toxic chemicals; full access to chemical information in the workplace and in products, reaction to early warnings, and comprehensive toxicity data from the chemical industry for all their chemicals in commerce.
Additional Resources
Click Here for a list of websites and reports on Toxics and Health. |
