Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. The brominated variety of commercialized chemical flame retardants comprise approximately 19.7% of the market. They are effective in plastics and textile applications like electronics, clothes, and furniture. 390,000 tons of brominated flame retardants were sold in 2011. This represents 19.7% of the flame retardants market.

Types of compounds

Many different BFRs are produced synthetically with widely varying chemical properties. There are several groups: * Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): DecaBDE, OctaBDE (not manufactured anymore), PentaBDE (not manufactured anymore, the first BFR, commercialized in the 1950s) *

Polybrominated biphenyl Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), also called brominated biphenyls or polybromobiphenyls, are a group of manufactured chemicals that consist of polyhalogenated compound, polyhalogenated derivatives of a biphenyl core. Their chlorine analogs are t ...

(PBB), not manufactured anymore * Brominated cyclohydrocarbons * Other brominated flame retardants with different properties and mechanisms Decabromodiphenyl ether (''Deca-BDE'' or ''DeBDE'') - In August 2012, the UK authorities proposed decabromodiphenyl ether (Deca-BDE or DeBDE) as a candidate for Authorisation under the EU‘s regulatory regime on chemicals, REACH. On 5 July 2013 ECHA withdrew Deca-BDE from its list of priority substances for Authorisation under REACH, therefore closing the public consultation. On 1 August 2014, ECHA submitted a restriction proposal for Deca-BDE. The agency is proposing a restriction on the manufacture, use and placing on the market of the substance and of mixtures and articles containing it. On 17 September 2014, ECHA submitted the restriction report which initiates a six months public consultation. On 9 February 2017, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

adopted Regulation EU 2017/227. Article 1 of this regulation states that Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 is amended to include a ban on the use of decaBDE in quantities greater than 0.1% by weight, effective from 2 March 2019. Products placed on the market prior to 2 March 2019 are exempt. Furthermore, the use decaBDE in aircraft is permissible until 2 March 2027.

Hexabromocyclododecane Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD or HBCDD) is a brominated flame retardant. It consists of twelve carbon, eighteen hydrogen, and six bromine atoms tied to the ring. Its primary application is in extruded (XPS) and expanded (EPS) polystyrene foam used ...

(''HBCD'' or ''HBCDD'') is a ring consisting of twelve

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

atoms with six

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

atoms tied to the ring. The commercially used HBCD is in fact a mixture of different

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...

s. HBCD is toxic to water-living

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s. The UNEP Stockholm Convention has listed HBCD for elimination, but allowing a temporary exemption for the use in polystyrene insulation foams in buildings. Tetrabromobisphenol A (''TBBPA'' or ''TBBP-A'') is mainly used in

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...

s, as a reactive flame retardant. Since TBBPA is chemically bound to the resin of the printed circuit board, it is less easily released than the loosely applied mixtures in foams such that an EU risk assessment concluded in 2005 that TBBPA poses no risk to human health in that application. TBBPA is also used as an additive in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Contents in plastics

Content of brominated flame retardants in different polymers:

Types of applications

The electronics industry accounts for the greatest consumption of BFRs. In computers, BFRs are used in four main applications: in

s, in components such as connectors, in plastic covers, and in

electrical cable Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

s. BFRs are also used in a multitude of products, including, but not exclusively, plastic covers of television sets, carpets, pillows, paints, upholstery, and domestic kitchen appliances.

Environmental and safety issues

Generally, governments have determined that brominated fire retardants are not harmful to human health in the exposure amounts assessed. Ingestion of house

dust Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...

accounts for 80-90% of total PBDE exposure, while the remaining exposure occurs from food ingestion. PBDE-contaminated foods, particularly those high in fat content, such as fatty meats or fish, are possible sources of exposure. In

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Infants may suck the milk directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a Breast pump, pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Orga ...

infants, breast milk may be an exposure source because PBDEs can be present in the mother and her milk. Various other food items may contain PBDEs, including meat, meat products, dairy products, fish and other seafood.

References

External links

MPI Milebrome - Brominated Flame Retardants

Bromine Science and Environmental Forum

European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel
* SFT
Current State of Knowledge and Monitoring requirements: Emerging "new" Brominated flame retardants in flame retarded products and the environment
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Bromine compounds Organobromides Flame retardants