Levels and trends of HBCD and BDEs in the European and Asian environments, with some information for other BFRs

Particle-bound Dechlorane Plus and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in ambient air around Shanghai, China

“…These results are consistent with those reported in soil samples from Shanghai city (Jiang et al, 2010). However, they are obviously different from those reported in North America and Europe (de Wit, 2002;Hites, 2004;Law et al, 2006Law et al, , 2008, where penta-and octa-BDEs were the mainly-used brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and BDE-47 and -99 were the dominant congeners in the environment. One reason for the relatively low percentages of penta-and octa-BDEs in this study is that technical deca-BDE (mixture of deca-and nona-BDEs) is the most widely used BFR in China (Chen et al, 2007).…”

“…Recent research has shown that some halogenated flame retardants are potentially toxic, bio-accumulative, ubiquitous and persistent in the environment (Ismail et al, 2009;Muir and Howard, 2006), especially polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (de Wit, 2002;Law et al, 2003Law et al, , 2006Law et al, , 2008Talsness, 2008). Penta-and octa-BDEs were regulated in Europe and the Unites States (Hites, 2004) and were added as new persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to the Stockholm Convention at the 4th Conference of the Parties (COP-4) held in May 2009 (www.pops.int).…”

Hexabromocyclododecane in consumer fish from South China: Implications for human exposure via dietary intake

“…Recent studies have observed an ascending trend for HBCD levels in the environments of Europe and Asia. This has been attributed to the evolving use pattern of BFRs following the phase-out of two major PBDE mixtures (penta-and octa-BDEs) globally [4,13]. Although HBCD is bioavailable and potentially toxic to humans [14], no restrictions have been placed on producing and applying HBCD.…”

Chronic exposure to environmental levels of tribromophenol impairs zebrafish reproduction

“…Owing to their environmental persistence, bioaccumulative properties, and potential toxicity in animals and humans, BFR contamination has become a matter of great concern. Indeed, most of the recent studies on the toxicity of BFRs have focused on the effects of PBDEs, TBBPA, and HBCD (reviewed by de Wit, 2002;Law et al, 2008). Utilized as flame retardants, bromophenols have been consistently used in textiles, polyurethanes, plastics, epoxy resins, and paper manufacturing, as well as additives or intermediates for the yield of other flame retardants (Weil and Levchik, 2004).…”