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environmental effects of halogenated flame retardants Concerns about the health and environmental effects of halogenated flame retardants, which are used in building materials, furniture, textiles, and electronics, have recently prompted calls for the compounds’ phaseout. Halogenated flame retardants, which contain bromine and chlorine—elements that are useful in suppressing fires—have been found to cause neurological, developmental, and reproductive damage, as well as other illnesses In the future, Herman Miller’s Eames lounge chair and ottoman (above) will use fabric free of PBDEs. These and other halogenated flame retardants have come under increasing scrutiny for negative health effects.

in lab animals, and to persist in the environment. Recently, researchers have zeroed in on a class of flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as a number of international studies by academic and government institutions have noted increasing levels of PBDEs in human breast milk in lab animals, and to persist in the environment. Recently, researchers have zeroed in on a class of flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as a number of international studies by academic and government institutions have noted increasing levels of PBDEs in human breast milk. In the June 2004 issue of Environmental Building News (EBN), a newsletter published by BuildingGreen of Brattleboro, Vermont, executive editor Alex Wilson argued that the potential health and environmental damage caused by PBDEs and related chemicals warrant their elimination from the design, construction, and furnishing of buildings. “In looking at their history.

Courtesy Herman Miller; the U.S. Fire

Some furniture companies, in line with earlier commitments to sustainable design, have already begun seeking alternatives. Herman Miller and Interface have pledged to eliminate halogenated flame retardants from their products. In 2002, Steelcase wrote PBDE flame retardants out of its design standards for new products, and is weeding penta- and octaBDEs out of its product line, according to a company spokeswoman. Several furniture manufacturers are also participating in an EPA-led initiative to identify environmentally safe flame retardants“It’s a very complex topic, and it’s important to do the right thing [on the basis of] valid information,” said Randy Carter, Steelcase’s principal engineer for codes and approvals

Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have stepped into the fray. The European Union has called for eliminating penta- and octaBDE, as have California and Maine, and New York is reportedly weighing restrictions on PBDEs as well. EBN’s Wilson notes that European firesafety codes consider the toxicity of retardants, whereas U.S. codes don’t. When EPA announced last November the voluntary phaseout of penta- and octaBDE by the Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (the only U.S. producer of the compounds), the agency issued a statement acknowledging that “there is growing evidence that the PBDE chemicals bioaccumulate and are persistent in the environment,” and called for further study, but noted that the agency “has not concluded that PBDEs pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment.”

The U.S. Green Building Council has yet to address halogenated flame retardants in its LEED rating system, although the group is open to pursuing the issue, according to vice president and LEED program director Nigel Howard. Trade groups, however, maintain that PBDEs have not been proven hazardous as a group. “BuildingGreen’s position is kind of a whitewash, because it doesn’t differentiate between types of PBDEs,” said Peter O’Toole, U.S. program director for the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, a chemical industry group. The group has argued that while rising levels of penta- and octaBDE in the environment and in humans bear watching, another form, decaBDE, has yet to be proven unsafe. He cites a recent risk assessment by the European Union, and findings by the National Academy of Sciences, the Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, in making the case for decaBDE’s safety. EBN’s editorial stated otherwise, citing a recent study from Sweden, among others.

However individual compounds are addressed in the near term, halogenated flame retardants are likely to remain under the microscope. EBN’s editors encouraged architects and builders to design in a manner that minimizes the need for flame retardants. Some of the strategies they outlined include encasing plastic-coated wiring in metal conduit, protecting foam insulation with fire-resistant barriers, using sprinklers more extensively, and replacing some plastics in construction with cements, metals, or ceramics.