1 The Flame Retardants Controversy: Fire Safety and Environmental Protection Adrian Beard, EFA roundtable, 2008-01-31.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
OSHA’s Revised Hazard Communication Standard
Advertisements

2013 Training Requirements for the Revised OSHA Hazard Communication Standard This presentation (“Employers Hazcom Training Requirements”) summarizes the.
Sustainability: Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco- systems IUCN/UNEP/WWF (1991). "Caring.
E B F R I P European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel A sector group of Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE (HHW) Volunteer Safety Awareness
WCAM GHS Training December Introduction  The federal Hazard Communication Standard says that you have a “Right-To-Know” what hazards you face on.
GHS Globally Harmonized System
PBDEs: Update on Current Issues NAHMMA Tacoma, Washington September 22, 2005.
1 Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) Use in Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
Background – Scope and Development of the GHS as an International System Hazard Classification – Physical Hazards – Health Hazards – Environmental Hazards.
TRP Chapter Chapter 2.3 Environmental impacts and health risks.
Flame retardants in electronics: Are halogen-free alternatives the future? Stephanie Dalquist 14 May 2002.
Kooperationsstelle Hamburg Substitution of Hazardous Chemicals in Products and Processes Conference on Substitution Hamburg, June 2002 Introduction.
AHFA Flammability Update Bob Luedeka March 20, 2008.
Overview: Hazardous Waste Combustion. What is Hazardous Waste? Definition of Hazardous Waste –Hazardous wastes are distinguished from other wastes by:
Directions for Flame Retardant Research and Product Development Environmental Summit New Orleans, May 2007 Ray Dawson Albemarle Corporation.
European Flame Retardant Association EBCA Meeting 26 November 2010 Dr Veronique Steukers.
Upcoming challenges: flame retardants Stamatis Sivitos, UK SNS annual event.
Hazardous Household Products Important things to know! Bay-Wise Advanced Master Gardener Program Jean F. Austin, FCS Educator Maryland Cooperative Extension.
Fire risk and hazard, the developing picture Concepts and EU dimension EFA Round table 16th February Brussels Robert A. Graham Executive Director.
Persistent Organic Pollutants in Marine Ecosystems.
Pollution and Human Health
WHO Health Care Waste Management Protection of the Human Environment (PHE) Richard M. Carr.
REVISED HAZARD COMMUNICATION STANDARD INCLUDING GHS REVISIONS
Hazard Communication. SAFETY The purpose of OSHA Hazard Communication Standard is to ensure that the hazards of all chemicals produced or imported are.
1 Update on recent developments on consumer fire safety 5 th EФA Roundtable Robert Graham Alliance for Consumer Fire Safety in Europe - ACFSE 14 June 2007,
Perspectives on Flame retardants Petra Andersson SP Fire Technology
HAZARD COMMUNICATION (HAZCOM) Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management Stephen F. Austin State University.
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT.  History of the Act ◦ The primary purpose of TSCA is to regulate chemical substances and mixtures  It does so by regulating.
Multimedia Assessment for New Fuels: Stakeholders’ Meeting September 13, 2005 Sacramento, CA Dean Simeroth, California Air Resources Board Dave Rice, Lawrence.
WHMIS. Canada has laws that specify what information needs to be made available to employees who need to work with hazardous materials. – W - workplace.
Dangerous Throughout Canada, standard symbols are used to identify ___________ materials. The ______________________ _____________________________ (________)
Ozone Depletion Reducing the manufacture and release of halogenated organic chemicals.
WHMIS.
Environmental Hazards and Human Health, Part 1. CHEMICAL HAZARDS A hazardous chemical can harm humans or other animals because it may: –Be flammable –Be.
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems.
Hazard Communication OSHA Standards Material Safety Data Sheets.
Section 3.0 – The Spread of Harmful Substances. Potentially harmful substances are spread and concentrated in the environment in various ways.
WHMIS W H M I S Established October 31, 1988.
GHS Hazard Communication
WASTE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARDS PROFESSOR JIM BRIDGES Emeritus Professor of Toxicology and Environmental Health Chair of the EU scientific committee.
WHMIS became law through a combination of federal, provincial and territorial legislation that became effective October 31, providing information on the.
Environmentally Preferable Approaches for Meeting Furniture Fire Safety Standards Mark Buczek Supresta American Fire Safety Council Furniture Flame Retardancy.
Lecture-3. Primary air pollutants - Materials that when released pose health risks in their unmodified forms or those emitted directly from identifiable.
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. This system provides workers and employers nationwide with vital information about hazardous materials.
Outcome of the Workshop on PFOA organised by the Commission 4 th of May 2010 Christine Wistuba, DG ENV, D3.
Flame Retardant Product Risk Assessments Veronique Steukers, 1 April 2003.
Food environment Relations between and. FOOD CHAIN.
November 2013 California State University, Northridge Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health and COFISH – Conference on Fire Safety & Health
Samuel Nii Tettey (Ergonomist). At the end of Session, participants should be able to: - Identify fire problems at the enterprise level and Conduct Fire.
Material Safety Data Sheet 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE SUBSTANCE / PREPARATION 2. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS 3. HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION Product.
1 AGENDA  Hazard Communication: –Upcoming Changes –Pictograms –New Label Format –Signal Word –Safety Data Sheets.
Courtesy of Schools Insurance Authority. Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Section 5194 Hazard Communication determines the dangers of the chemicals.
Lecture #4 Risk Assessment, philosophical approaches to risk & regulation.
Lesson 5 Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHIMIS) and
Potential Impact on the Cotton Industry
Hazard Communication Update
Managing Hazardous Wastes
16.3 Categories of Air Pollutants
Chemical Hazards.
MSDS Training SustainaPac January 2013 AS.
Why Do Fire Fighters Support the Banning of Flame Retardants?
Lesson 5 Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHIMIS) and
International Initiatives and the U.S. HPV Challenge Program
Hazard Communication Update
Proposed restriction of organo-halogen compounds and its possible impact on the electronics sector 18 June 2008 Resources Exercise 1 OHP and paper pens.
Presentation to IPC RoHS Meeting
DG Environment, Unit D.2 Marine Environment and Water Industry
Presentation transcript:

1 The Flame Retardants Controversy: Fire Safety and Environmental Protection Adrian Beard, EFA roundtable,

2 Outline Accidental fires cause human casualties, economic damage and environmental pollution The risks that flame retardant chemicals pose are small and manageable Flame retardants are an important element of fire protection and they can be safely used The manufacturers try to develop new and better flame retardants

3 Fire Casualties and Damage (Europe 25) about 15 casualties in Europe per day ~ 75 % of victims in private homes intoxication by smoke is main cause of death costs of 30 billion € per year ~ 0.3 % of gross domestic product

4 Effects of Combustion Products and Smoke heat dense smoke can make orientation impossible acutely toxic: narcotic: CO, HCN - deadly within minutes; CO 2, O 2 -deficiency irritants for eyes and breathing: HCl, SO 2, NOx, aldehydes compounds with long term effects: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) halogenated dioxins + furans (PCDD/F) mostly adsorbed to soot

5 Different FR systems Load needed Inhibition of flame (gas phase) most effective: halogens (Br >> Cl) often combined with synergists complex radical reactions with Oxygen Inhibition of surface burning (charring) eg. P-Containing Systems Mineral FR Systems Release of water Temperature reduction Effectiveness

6 The Variety of Flame Retardants diversity in terms of physical / chemical properties, environmental fate, toxicology, and regulatory status 35 Cl 31 P 80 Br 14 N 27 Al 24 Mg Al(OH) 3 11 B

7 Halogen Containing Flame Retardants Product examples Decabromodiphenylether (Deca) Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) Tetrabromophthalic acid anhydride Dodecachloropentacyclooctadecadiene (Dechlorane) Chlorinated paraffinsTetrabromobisphenol A (TBBA)

8 Phosphorus Containing Flame retardants Examples Triaryl phosphatesResorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) (RDP) Tris(chlorpropy)lphosphate (TCPP) Phosphinic acid derivativesAmmonium polyphosphate (APP) Red phosphorus

9 Variety of Flame Retardants usage of Flame Retardants, Europe, % of total tonnage (total 408,000 tons/year) source SRI Consulting

10 When are Flame Retardants used? Laws and regulations define the necessary minimum levels of fire safety Technical standards for products define which fire test has to be applied and what the criteria are Fire test standards define the method of testing for reaction to fire and the measured parameters (e.g. time to ignition, heat release,...) Flame retardants can be added so some materials in order to achieve the necessary safety level, i.e. pass the relevant fire test

11 Television sets flame retardednot flame retarded 8 min after ignition with a small flame:

12 Concerns: dioxins Q: Can halogenated flame retardants form dioxins and furans during their production, use, in case of fire, when disposed of or when recycled? A: Only very few out of the 75 brominated FRs are precursors for dioxins and furans Studies show that even after several recycling loops, plastics containing brominated FRs can still pass the German dioxin ordinance Modern incinerators effectively remove dioxins and furans from the flue gas Decabromodiphenylether (Deca) chlorinated dibenzodioxin chlorinated dibenzofuran

13 Concerns: bio-accumulation Q: Do halogenated products accumulate in organisms and are they found in increasing amounts in human milk? A: Only very few halogenated FRs have the potential to bio- accumulate (pentaBDE, PBBs). Only pentaBDE is found in breast milk and latest publications show that the level is falling again since PentaBDE is banned in Europe since July PBBs have been voluntarily phased out by the industry in 2000.

14 Concerns: toxicity Q: Are flame retardants potentially toxic chemicals which are generally objectionable in consumer products? Can they be taken up by humans and be harmful to their health? A: FRs are as safe as other common chemicals. The amounts of FRs released from products are usually minimal and pose no significant risk; reactive FRs do not migrate at all. No report exists of humans or organisms having had adverse effects or having died from exposure to FRs. Most FRs are not classified as dangerous (toxic) substances according to EU legislation. Several FRs are used as reactive substances and hence do not exist as such anymore in the consumer product.

15 EU Risk Assessments

16 Evaluation of Flame Retardants Following the current risk assessments, only 2 FRs have been banned whereas for the others, either no risk has been identified, or risks have been found manageable for those where the risk assessment is finalised. A large number of FRs have not been associated with any environmental or health risks, some even received approval from environmental authorities. For some FRs, the European risk assessments have found no risks, but still they remain in the political discussion.

17 The Perception of Risk Hazard = harmful property of a chemical Risk = the chance the harm will occur Risk = Probability x Hazard Probability is linked to Exposure Media, green and consumer groups often confuse hazard with risk Translated into the everyday world: Alcohol is a deadly poison Sacharin is a known carcinogen

18 REACH and Flame Retardants The new European chemicals legislation REACH requires that all chemicals – old and new – have to be registered and a basic set of health and environmental data must be submitted (dependent on production volume). => all chemicals will be assessed on an equal basis The FR industry is well prepared for REACH, because of long experience with EU Risk Assessments. Industry and consumers hope that in exchange for the high cost of REACH, we can build trust in the chemicals we use.

19 Demands on flame retardants flame retardant compatibility with the target polymer and the production process flame retardant effect toxicology, ecology cost Often, combinations of FRs are used No single, “best” flame retardant

20 Upholstered Furniture LCA Project Life Cycle Analysis different flame retardants: P and Br based in comparison with non flame retardant components combined with fire statistics The project was contracted by EFRA to SP & IVL (Swedish Environmental Research Institute)

21 Upholstered Furniture LCA - Results flame retarded sofas produced chlorinated / brominated dioxins and furans non-flame retarded sofas produce markedly higher emissions of HCN and PAHs due to much higher number of fires therefore, non-flame redarded sofas have a more negative impact on the environment

22 Summary and Conclusion Accidental fires cause human casualties, economic damage and environmental pollution The risks that flame retardant chemicals pose are small and manageable Flame retardants are an important element of fire protection and they can be safely used The manufacturers try to develop new and better flame retardants

24 Thank you for your attention