Policy trends

Introduction

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are have been widely used in consumer goods to inhibit the ignition of
flammable organic materials. However, BFRs attracted environmental concerns because of their persistence,
bioaccumulation and potential toxic effects on the environment and human health. Studies have showed that some of
them are developmental neurotoxicants and thus cause neurochemical and hormonal deficiencies1-3. Increasing
concern has promoted some International organizations and European Countries to ban some of them following the
precautionary principle.
China produces and consumes a large quantity of BFRs contained products. As the development of economy in
China, consumption of commodities containing BFRs (e.g. electronics, clothes and furniture) has been growing
rapidly. Moreover, China, especially Southern and Southeastern China ‘digests’ a large quantity of electronic waste
(e-waste) in the name recycling from developed countries that formed new sources for BFRs. Guiyu and Taizhou
have become famous worldwide as disposal of e-waste has been developed in industrial scale there. Due to the
above mention facts, numerous investigations on BFRs in various environmental matrices in China have been
conducted during past decades4-7.
This review conducted a systematic investigation that provides a good overview of the use, occurrence and temporal
trend of some selected BFRs in the abiotic and biotic matrices in China. Many BFRs are produced and used with
widely varying chemical properties. In this paper, we focus on the most important ones that are and were
commercially available in the Chinese market. In brief, these are 17 chemical in three groups, including nine
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (i.e. BDE-28, -47, -100, -99, -85, -154, -153, -183, -209),
Hexabromocyclodecane (HBCD) isomers (i.e. α-, β-, γ-HBCD), Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and four ‘new’
BFRs (i.e. 2-Ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB), 1,2-Bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE),
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) and Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE)).
Production and use of BFRs in China
Progress of the FR industry in China could date back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. The industries dealing with
construction, electrical/electronic components, and transport are the three of greatest importance. Until 2009, there
are over 100 factories of various sizes that manufacture FRs in China. In recent years, the annual growth rate of
production of FRs has reached around 15% in the years between 1999 and 2007 in China. And the production of the
halogenated aliphatic phosphates in China has the highest output in the world8. In 2001, FRs produced in China
were marked by chlorinated FRs, with production amount of 112,500 t, in addition to which Phosphorus,
Brominated and Inorganic FRs contributed production amounts of 9,000, 10,500 and 18,000 t, respectively9. In 2004,
FR consumptions were 564,000, 487,000, 160,000 and 269,000 t for US, EU, Japan and Asia (except Japan),
respectively. And BFR consumptions in these four regions were 66,000, 56,000, 50,000 and 140,000 t, respectively
10
. In 2006, FR production amount was 260,000 t in China and they were mostly manufactured in Shandong and
Jiangsu provinces11. As for BFRs (Figure 1), the most widely produced ones in China were Deca-BDE, TBBPA,
DBDPE (started in 2006), Octa-BDE and HBCDs, and in 2006 the production amounts for them were 36,000,
7th International Symposium on Brominated Flame Retardants
18,000, 11,000, 8,000 and 7,500 t, respectively10. PFRs commonly produced in China were phosphate, phosphonate
and phosphite ester, nevertheless, data on export of them is unavailable1