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A CASE STUDY ON THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF DECABDE, A MAJOR BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANT
Citation:
STASKAL, D., L. S. BIRNBAUM, T. F. WEBSTER, H. M. STAPLETON, L. I. SWEET, AND M. VAN DEN BERG. A CASE STUDY ON THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF DECABDE, A MAJOR BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANT. Presented at Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting 2008, Seattle, WA, March 16 - 20, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
research presentation
Description:
This is a proposal for a roundtable presentation at the 2008 Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting. ABSTRACT BODY: Decabromodiphenyl ether (DecaBDE) is a high production volume chemical used as a flame retardant in a variety of consumer applications; examples of uses in high impact polystyrene and textile applications include housing of TVs, audio and video equipment, mobile phones, and upholstery textiles (e.g., sofas, office chairs). It is the only polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) mixture still used commercially as the other formulations have been banned or withdrawn worldwide. DecaBDE is of great scientific interest and is the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny. While the European Union exempted decaBDE from a ban on all PBDEs, Sweden as well as several US states have initiated and/or passed legislation to ban decaBDE in certain applications. A great deal of controversy exists among scientific experts relating to human health risk; issues of toxicity, exposure, and breakdown often dominate the scientific debate. These topics, along with a cost-benefit analysis and discussion on data gaps in risk assessment will be presented in this roundtable discussion. This abstract does not represent EPA policy.