FM550 flame retardant ingredients detected in 7 Arctic species

Firemaster 550 (FM550,) a mixture of four flame retardants that are either known to be toxic or lack adequate information, continues to be used in furniture and baby products to meet the California furniture flammability standard Technical Bulletin 117 (TB117).

Two of these ingredients were found in seven species in the Arctic according to the report attached, "New brominated flame retardants in Arctic biota".

The long-range spreading capacity and bio-accumulating of the two brominated ingredients in Firemaster 550, (2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate or TBB and bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate or BEHTBP, is shown by their presence in animals on the Svalbard Islands, located between Norway and the North Pole.

In addition to being found in the Arctic, these Firemaster 550 components have been detected in house dust, sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants that discharge effluent to the San Francisco Bay, California as well as in blubber of marine mammals near flame retardant production facilities in south China.

The attached study investigated the presence of 14 new BFRs in seven species living within the Svalbard Islands. Remote arctic areas like the Svalbard Islands “have been important reference areas to prove both long-range transport and bio-accumulating capacity” of chemicals.

TBB was found in the tissue samples of all seven species and BEHTBP was detected in five. This is an indication of the occurrence of long-range transport .

TBB lipid concentration data varied among the species (species higher in the food chain had higher lipid concentrations of TBB), indicating that TBB may biomagnify in the marine food chain.
The most common substitute for decaBDE, which is currently being phased out of products in the U.S., decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE), was also found.

The press release from Klif describing this study can be found here: http://www.klif.no/no/Aktuelt/Nyheter/2010/Mai-2010/Undersoker-erstatnin...

A news article from ENDS Europe discussing the study is printed below.

“The species selected represent the medium and upper part of the Arctic food web. They have different food preferences and their capacity to metabolize pollutants differs.”

Chilling report on 'new' BFRs in Arctic species
ENDS Europe
Tuesday 4 May 2010

The presence of compounds TBB and BEHTBP in animals on the Svalbard Islands, located between Norway and the North Pole, has shown the long-range spreading capacity and bio-accumulating potential of 'new' brominated flame retardants (BFRs). These are the main findings of a Norwegian study of 14 BFRs in Arctic animal species published on Tuesday by the Climate and Pollution Agency (Klif). TBB was found in all seven species analysed. BEHTBP was found in five of the seven species.

'New' BFRs are increasingly used as substitutes for the more traditional compounds. "These are substances that have not been studied much before, and the environmental effects are not yet completely clarified ", the agency said in a statement.

TBB and BEHTBP should be monitored in a variety of Arctic species, the study concludes, while three additional compounds (BTBPE, DBDPE and TBP) found "at very low levels" should be included in future analyses of BFRs in Arctic biota.