Fire safety leaves its mark on the environment
July 25th, 2005
Since the 1980s, brominated flame retardants have been used as additives in plastics and textiles to improve the fire safety of upholstered furniture, building materials or electronic equipment. However, some of these substances are highly persistent and can be transported over long distances. As a result, the levels found in remote mountain lakes are as high as those in waterbodies of the Central Plateau. A dramatic increase in the concentrations of three different flame retardants has now been detected by Empa and Eawag researchers in a sediment core from the Greifensee in Canton Zurich. Two of these compounds are suspected endocrine disruptors, and measurements from the US indicate that the substances can accumulate in the food chain. Precisely how brominated flame retardants enter the environment remains to be elucidated. Further studies are also designed to identify their transformation products, e.g. in sewage sludge.
SNF's media release [pdf; in German only]
NZZ-Article «Giftiger Feuerschutz», July 20th 2005 [pdf; in German only]
Publication in Environmetal Science and Technology 281A / July 2005 [pdf]
