Note: EPA has updated this document, but this version is provided as a courtesy to the public as a matter of public record.

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Notice

On February 22, 2007, an external peer-review panel workshop was hosted by an independent contractor on these PBDE Documents. Completing this process, the comments from this workshop were collected and compiled in a final report and are available from this site. The final report includes only four of the five reviewers’ comments. One reviewer’s comments were excluded from the report and were not considered by EPA due to the perception of a potential conflict of interest.

The U.S. EPA conducted a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessments of four congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers: tetraBDE (BDE-47), pentaBDE (BDE-99), hexaBDE (BDE-153), and decaBDE (BDE-209), that will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. Peer review is meant to ensure that science is used credibly and appropriately in derivation of the dose-response assessments and toxicological characterization.

PBDEs are used as flame retardants in furniture foam, plastics for TV cabinets, consumer electronics, wire insulation, and backcoatings for draperies and upholstery. An assessment of the potential health effects of four individual congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers has been undertaken. The draft assessments will present reference values for the noncancer effects (RfD and RfC) and a cancer assessment, where supported by available data, for the BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153, and BDE-209 congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The draft Toxicological reviews will be subject to an external peer review and 45-day public comment period.

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