Brominated Flame Retardants in Electronics:
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), are toxic chemicals added to the plastics in electronics, textiles, furniture, and many other products. ("Brominated" refers to bromine, which the chemicals are based on.) BFRs are causing great concern for the environment and human health. These chemicals are now found widely in humans, marine mammals and other wildlife throughout the globe. They disrupt the hormone and immune system and are particularly dangerous to children.
Types of BFRs in Electronics
PBDE - Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
The most widely used family of BFRs in electronics is PBDE. Since the 1970s, the electronics industry has been one of the largest consumers of PBDEs. About 40% of PBDEs are used in the outer casings of computers, printers and televisions.
Penta-BDE and octa-BDE are generally no longer used in new electronic products.
Deca-BDE. The largest volume of PBDEs used as a flame retardant has been deca-BDE, which is still in use and is still vigorously marketed by the bromine industry. While many computer manufacturers have eliminated deca-BDE from their products, television manufacturers constitute 45–80% of all decaBDE use in the US.
For more information on deca-BDE, click here to go to Clean Production Action's deca-BDE web page.
TBBPA
TBBPA is used largely in the circuit boards of electronics.
Health and Environmental Concerns
BFRs, especially one PBDEs, are persistent in the environment, meaning they don't break down easily. They contaminate the food chain, animals, and people. PBDEs "bioaccumulate" in fatty tissue, so they get magnified up the food chain. PBDEs and related compounds are turning up just about everywhere scientists look for them, up and down the food chain, in sediments, whales, seals, bird eggs, and human milk.
Research shows that women in North America have the highest levels globally of these chemicals in their breast milk and evidence continues to mount about their effect on the neurological and endocrine systems. These levels are doubling every two to five years in the North American population.
Also of great concern is the alarming fact that the concentrations of deca-BDE found in peregrine falcons approach those concentrations reported to have caused neurological damage in mice. So, like penta- and octa-BDE before it, manufacturers' claims that the biological uptake of deca-BDE would not occur, certainly not in high concentrations, have not only proven to be false, but deca-BDE itself has been documented as having caused harm in lab research.
Burning BFRs Produces Dioxin
The use of BFRs in consumer products poses exposure risks along the life cycle of a product - particularly when the products are disposed of. These chemicals can turn into brominated dioxins when electronic waste is burned.
A review by the World Health Organization's International Program on Chemical Safety has concluded that brominated flame retardants are significant sources of polybrominated dioxins and furans. Yet electronic waste is routinely burned in municipal incinerators. When e-waste is exported to developing countries in Asia or Africa, the discarded plastics, laden with BFRs, are routinely burned in open piles, close to residential areas.
Resources on BFRs
Dust Study. Study of BFRs on Dust from Electronics.
Clean Production Action's BFR web pages
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