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.
IN THIS SECTION
Are Toxic Flame-Retardants the Next PCBs?
Fire Fighter Organizations Support Phasing Out PBDEs
Safer Alternatives Are Widely Used
Michigan Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group Recommendations
Michigan Can Restrict deca-BDE
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.
TOXIC LEVELS ARE RISING
- 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.
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.
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.
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."
SAFER ALTERNATIVES ARE WIDELY USED
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 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: *none applied at assembly factory |
Furniture La-Z-Boy |
PBDEs IN THE GREAT LAKES
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.
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)
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.
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
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)
Organizational Members: 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 Fund • Clinton County Family Resource Center • Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice • East Michigan Environmental Action Council • Ecology Center • Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan • Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) 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
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