New Tool Launched Today Measures Corporate Progress Towards Safer Chemicals Third-Party Benchmark Designed to Help Reduce Public Health & Environmental Risks from Chemical Exposure for Health Care Industry, Retail Stores, Socially Responsible Investors and other Stakeholders For Immediate Release: Monday, December 8, 2014, 12:01am EST A group of corporate and NGO leaders today released a new tool for assessing leadership in corporate chemicals management. The Chemical Footprint Project… …
The FRs market is experiencing a massive transformation in chemistry. As of 2013, bromine manufacturers no longer manufacture and use decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) in the U.S. according to the bromine industry association—Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF). Thus decaBDE consumption in the U.S. went from 38 million pounds in 2008 to zero by 2013—a dramatic decline given that it was projected in 2008 to increase to 42 million pounds by 2013. Consumption of DecaBDE in… …
One of the most studied of the new FRs is Firemaster 550—a bromine and phosphorous-based compound. Firemaster 550 highlights include: Used in polyurethane foam products, including seating applications, as an alternative to the now phased out of use BFR, pentaBDE. Widely found to be a common contaminant in household dust. People increasingly found to be contaminated with Firemaster 550. Identified as an endocrine disruptor that can interfere with thyroid hormone function… …
But what are manufacturers offering instead of decaBDE and HBCD, also on the phase out pathway due to its restriction by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants? Albemarle, Chemtura, and ICL are the leading producers of BFRs globally, accounting for roughly 75% of BFR production. Not surprisingly these manufacturers are turning in part to new brominated compounds as solutions to the old the BFRs. A look at the offerings from FR manufacturers shows several dozen possible… …
Electronics and electrical devices account for 50% of global brominated flame retardant (BFR) consumption. The dominant end uses of BFRs in electronics are in cabinets, housings and printed circuit boards—together they account for roughly 80% of all electronics’ consumption of BFRs. Other end uses of BFRs in electronics include connectors and relays, and wire and cable insulation. In previous Trending Topics we detailed the health effects of BFRs used in electronics (notably the… …
A critical approach to chemicals in products in general and plastics in particular is to ask: Is it necessary? For example, is a flame retardant in nap mats even necessary? Driven by government regulations and industry standards, manufacturers now consume over 4 billion pounds of FRs globally each year. Plastics are by far and away the largest end use, consuming roughly 2/3rd of all FRs. The dominant end uses for FRs are electronics, construction materials, transportation components,… …
Dear Colleagues, I am looking forward to seeing many of you at GreenBuild, and want to invite you to join me at some interesting sessions (see below for dates and times). Our team has launched the next cohort of the GreenScreen Practitioner course with a talented group of experts (both taking and teaching!). We are also developing online training materials, and working on expanded guidance for GreenScreen List Translator and “How-To use GreenScreen to Earn LEED Credit”. Many… …
Government policies drive, somewhat ironically, both the use and restriction of FRs. International, regional, national, state, and local fire safety regulations and flammability standards drive demand for FRs. At the same time the trend in government regulations is increasing restrictions on the use of toxic FRs. Want to play “whack-a-chemical”? Ban one chemical and another equally toxic one pops up? FRs exemplify the problem of regulating on a chemical-by-chemical basis as… …
Global consumption in 2012: 3.9 billion pounds (lbs). With consumption expected to increase to 5.2 billion lbs by 2018 for a compound annual growth rate of 5% for the next five years. (BCC Research) Government regulations, with a major push from FR manufacturers, drive the markets for flame retardants. Insurance companies also exert pressure by increasing payment rates in unprotected environments. (IHS Chemical). The plastics industry is by far and away the largest consumer of FRs. Smaller… …
FRs and their adverse health effects are a seemingly ubiquitous topic in scientific journals. Today we provide a snapshot in the table below of the primary health effects of widely used flame retardants. This is a summary table of a few FRs. For further information including health effects of FRs with proprietary formulations see the US EPA Design for Environment Program. Health Effects Flame Retardants (FRs) Brominated Flame Retardants Chlorinated Flame Retardants Other FRs Persistent,… …