Campaigns
Take Action
Victories
Related Projects


Donate Now!

117 N. Division St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-761-3186 x119

Email MNCEH

Flame Retardants

For years, manufacturers have added chemicals to plastics and fabrics so they won't catch on fire or burn easily when exposed to flame or high heat. Some of the more widely used of these additives are polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. House Bill 4699 has been introduced in Michigan to ban deca-BDE in all products sold in the state by 2014.


TAKE ACTION NOW!

IN THIS SECTION

Are Toxic Flame-Retardants the Next PCBs?

Toxic Levels are Rising

Health Impacts

Fire Fighter Organizations Support Phasing Out PBDEs

Bans Gaining Momentum

Safer Alternatives Are Widely Used

PBDEs in the Great Lakes

Michigan Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group Recommendations

Michigan Can Restrict deca-BDE

Michigan Organizations Supporting Restrictions on deca-BDE

Additional Resources


Protect Children, Fire Fighters and the Great Lakes

Limit Toxic Flame-Retardants

Fighting fires does not have to have toxic consequences. PBDEs, flame-retardants that are rapidly accumulating in our bodies and the Great Lakes, have been found to be toxic to animals and may threaten our own health. Safe, affordable alternatives are available.

ARE TOXIC FLAME-RETARDANTS THE NEXT PCBs?

  • PBDEs – polybrominated diphenyl ethers, commonly used as flame-retardants – are added to textiles, foam products, and plastics to make them difficult to burn. There are three commercial mixtures of PBDEs: penta-BDE, octa-BDE, and deca-BDE. Deca-BDE is often added to drapes, carpets, furniture upholstery, and the plastic casings of electronics.

  • In 2004, the Michigan Legislature banned manufacturing, processing and distribution of materials containing more than 0.1% penta-BDE and octa-BDE. However, under certain circumstances, deca can break down into more toxic forms of PBDEs, including the banned octa-BDE.

  • Deca continues to be used heavily in the United States. Over 40% of all deca produced worldwide is used in North America.

  • PBDEs are structurally very similar to PCBs, chemicals once favored by industry but ultimately banned in the 1970s because of their high toxicity. Like PCBs, PBDEs are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms.

Back to top


TOXIC LEVELS ARE RISING

Download the Factsheet

  • PBDE levels “in human tissues in North America have increased significantly over time, and are much higher compared to levels in Europe or Japan.”

  • Limited studies indicate that children accumulate higher levels of PBDEs than adults.

  • Lake Michigan salmon were found to contain PBDEs at levels above 100 parts per billion, “one of the world’s highest concentrations for salmon in open water.” PBDE levels in Great Lakes walleye and lake trout rose exponentially from 1980 to 2000, doubling every 3-4 years.

  • Workers who recycle, repair, and maintain computers have very high levels of PBDEs.

  • A 2002-2003 study of breast milk samples from 20 healthy, first-time mothers from across the country found PBDEs in every breast milk sample tested -- a total of 35 different PBDEs. The average level of the fire retardants in the milk was 75 times the average found in recent European studies. Two of the women were found to have the highest levels ever reported in human beings worldwide (>700 ppb milk fat). The woman with the third highest level of the 20 women studied was the Michigan participant; with 235 ppb total PBDEs in her breast milk.

  • In a 2009 biomonitoring study of health professionals across the country, all participants were found to have some PBDEs in their bodies. The two participating physicians from Michigan were found to have 18 and 24 different PBDEs in their blood. One had detectable levels of deca-BDE in his blood, and was the only participant in whom BDE-151 was found.

Back to top


HEALTH IMPACTS

  • Learning and Memory: Exposure to deca-BDE in mice and rats during brain development “can give rise to irreversible changes in adult brain function.”

  • Reproductive: Rats exposed to PBDEs experienced a delayed onset of puberty and reproductive development.

  • Cancer: Rodents who ate deca-BDE developed liver tumors, causing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to classify deca as a “possible human carcinogen.”

  • Thyroid: PBDEs can disrupt homeostatic thyroid levels in mice. Decreased concentrations of the thyroid hormone can lead to decreased IQ in offspring.

Back to top


FIRE FIGHTER ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT PHASING OUT PBDEs

  • The Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs supports phasing out PBDEs because they “have been identified as having adverse physiological and development impacts on humans”, “there are readily available substitute products that do not exhibit these effects”, and “when PBDE compounds are exposed to fire they burn and release dense fumes and a highly corrosive gas know as hydrogen bromide which expose firefighters to additional chemical hazards”. Read the MAFC resolution.

  • The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) supports banning brominated flame retardants as "a step in the right direction for improving the health and safety of our fire fighters." IAFF states: "Many studies involving fire fighters exposed to these and other toxic gases during active fire fighting, overhaul, and long term exposure from these chemicals penetrating gear, have found that fire fighters have a much greater risk of contracting cancer, heart and lung disease, and other debilitating diseases. While we support the concept of flame retardant chemicals, there are alternatives that do not contain bromine or chlorine and are much safer for fire fighters than PBDEs." Read the IAFF letter.

Back to top


BANS GAINING MOMENTUM


  • Michigan and nine other states already regulate the use of penta-BDE and octa-BDE. Industries voluntarily withdrew the manufacture of penta-BDE by 2005 because of evidence that the chemical may be toxic and traces were found in breast milk.

  • Washington, Maine, Vermont, and Oregon are the first four states to widely ban brominated flame retardants, inculding all three commercial mixtures of PBDEs - penta-, octa-, and deca-BDE.

  • The Michigan Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group recommends "legislation banning Deca-BDE...contingent on the availability of a safe alternative."

Back to top


SAFER ALTERNATIVES ARE WIDELY USED

Download the Factsheet

Alternatives to Deca-BDE are being widely used by industries in every category covered by HB 4699. Companies are meeting fire safety standards while not using deca-BDE by redesigning products, or by using alternative flame retardants.

Companies that DO NOT USE DECA-BDE:

TVs/Computers/Electronics

Apple
Dell
DSM Engineering Plastics
Hewlett Packard
Lenovo
LG Electronics
Nanya/Indium
Panasonic
Philips
Samsung
Seagate Technology, Inc.
Sharp
Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. Sony
Sony-Ericcson Toshiba

Sources: a) Clean Production Action, Progress Towards PVC and BFR Elimination by Leading Electronic Manufacturers Selling Products in the US, February 2008. b) ChemSec, Clean Production Action, Greening Consumer Electronics, September 2009.

Mattresses

THESE ARE 14 OF THE TOP 15 BEDDING MANUFACTURERS IN THE U.S. MARKET:

Corsicana
Englander
International Bedding Corp
King Koil
Kingsdown
Lady Americana
Restonic
Sealy
Select Comfort
Serta
Simmons
Spring Air*
Tempur-Pedic
Therapedic*

*none applied at assembly factory

Source: Mattresses and Deca-BDE, Washington Department of Ecology, September 12, 2006.

Furniture

La-Z-Boy
Herman Miller
Steelcase
IKEA

Note: Many furniture manufacturers do not disclose deca content.

Source: a) Clean Production Action for IKEA. b) Personal Communications for La-Z-Boy, Herman Miller & Steelcase.

 

Back to top


PBDEs IN THE GREAT LAKES

Download the Factsheet


Concentrations of PBDEs in fish rose drastically from 1980-2000. PBDEs increased 300-fold in Lake Ontario lake trout. Concentrations in Lake St. Clair walleye and Lake Michigan lake trout followed a similar trend.

  • In a 2001 study, Lake Michigan salmon were found to contain PBDEs at levels above 100 parts per billion, “one of the world’s highest concentrations for salmon in open water.”

  • A 2009 study found PBDEs in many species of fish around the state of Michigan, including game fish such as northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, chinook salmon, and yellow perch. Bottom feeding fish, such as the common carp, were found to have higher PBDE levels due to their bottom foraging and the affinity PBDEs have towards sediments. The report concluded that due to the large range of the contamination and the varying levels between sites, the PBDEs were likely introduced from nonpoint source origins, such as atmospheric deposition.

  • A 2001 study showed a 60-fold increase of PBDEs in herring gull eggs from the Great Lakes region from 1981-2000.

  • “Great Lakes fish have been observed to have relatively high concentrations of PBDEs compared to other foods.
  • Deca-BDE has been shown to have a stronger attraction to organic material than to water, which forces it to attach to sediment particles. In 2002, total accumulation of deca-BDE alone in the five Great Lakes was estimated at 92 +/- 13 metric tons, and as of 2005, the quantity of deca-BDE -- which two studies found comprised approximately 95% of the total PBDE load -- was doubling in Lake Michigan every 7.5 years.

  • A 2009 study found that deca-BDE accounted for 79-98% of total PBDE in sediments from the Great Lakes and 79-90% of total PBDEs in sediments from the Saginaw River Watershed. The concentration of deca-BDE in dry sediment in Lake Michigan was 315 ppb, which was ten times higher than concentrations found in Lake Superior.
  • A 2009 study reviewed gestational tissue from women in southeast Michigan. The study found gestational tissue PBDE concentrations of 5.62 ppb lipid (excluding the placenta).

  • A 2007 biomonitoring study that included 3 adults and 2 children from Michigan found between four and nine different PBDEs in each of their bodies. State Rep. Terry Brown and his son Bryan from Pigeon, MI were the only participants in the national study (which included 35 people from 7 states) in whom BDEs 85 and 138 were found, indicating a common source of exposure.

    Back to top


    MICHIGAN INTERDEPARTMENTAL TOXICS STEERING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS

    In the summer of 2008, the State's Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group issued a long-awaited final report on PBDEs. The report recommends: "a legislative ban on Deca-BDE contingent on the availability of a safe alternative."

    Download statements (pdf) excerpted from “Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers: A Scientific Review with Risk Characterization and Recommendations.

    The full report is available online at:
    www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-tox-PBDEBackground_Paper-5-08_243976_7.pdf (pdf)

    Back to top


    MICHIGAN LEGISLATORS CAN PROTECT CHILDREN,
    FIREFIGHTERS AND OUR GREAT LAKES FROM DECA-BDE!

    Ask your state representative to support HB 4699 to phase

    out deca-BDE in mattresses and residential furniture

    by 2010 and in televisions and computers by 2012.

    TAKE ACTION NOW!


    Back to top


    HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING HB 4699 (partial list):

    American Academy of Pediatrics (Michigan Chapter)

    Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)

    Association for Children’s Mental Health

    Autism Society of Michigan

    Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination

    Clean Water Action

    Clean Water Fund

    Clinton County Family Resource Center

    Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice

    East Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC)

    Ecology Center

    Environment Michigan

    Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan

    Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan

    LocalMotionGreen

    Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

    Michigan Coalition for Children and Families

    Michigan Environmental Council

    Michigan League of Conservation Voters Education Fund

    Michigan Nurses Association

    Science and Environmental Health Network

    Sierra Club Michigan Chapter

    Voices for Earth Justice

    Back to top


    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

    For more information on deca-BDE, please see the excellent fact sheets from Clean Production Action:

    Deca-BDE and BFR Substitution in the Electronics Industry (pdf)

    Electronic Products Meet Fire Safety Standards without Deca-BDE (pdf)

     

    Back to Top