Ars has reached out to the lead writer, Megan Liu, however has not acquired a response. Liu works for the environmental well being advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, which led the examine.
The examine highlighted that flame retardants utilized in plastic electronics could, in some situations, be recycled into home goods.
“Companies proceed to make use of poisonous flame retardants in plastic electronics, and that is leading to sudden and pointless poisonous exposures,” Liu stated in a press launch from October. “These cancer-causing chemical compounds should not be used to start with, however with recycling, they’re coming into the environment and our properties in additional methods than one. The excessive ranges we discovered are regarding.”
BDE-209, aka decabromodiphenyl ether or deca-BDE, was a dominant part of TV and laptop housings earlier than it was banned by the European Union in 2006 and a few US states in 2007. China solely started limiting BDE-209 in 2023. The flame retardant is linked to carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive hurt.
Uncommon contaminant
The presence of such poisonous compounds in home goods is essential for noting the potential hazards within the plastic waste stream. However, along with discovering ranges that had been an order of magnitude beneath protected limits, the examine additionally prompt that the contamination will not be quite common.
The examine examined 203 black plastic family merchandise, together with 109 kitchen utensils, 36 toys, 30 hair equipment, and 28 meals serviceware merchandise. Of these 203 merchandise, solely 20 (10 p.c) had any bromine-containing compounds at ranges that may point out contamination from bromine-based flame retardants, like BDE-209. Of the 109 kitchen utensils examined, solely 9 (8 p.c) contained regarding bromine ranges.
“[A] minority of black plastic merchandise are contaminated at ranges >50 ppm [bromine],” the examine states.
But that is simply bromine compounds. Overall, solely 14 of the 203 merchandise contained BDE-209 particularly.
The product that contained the very best stage of bromine compounds was a disposable sushi tray at 18,600 ppm. Given that heating is a major contributor to chemical leaching, it is unclear what publicity danger the sushi tray poses. Of the 28 meals serviceware merchandise assessed within the examine, the sushi tray was solely certainly one of two discovered to comprise bromine compounds. The different was a quick meals tray that was on the threshold of contamination with 51 ppm.
