Emissions of selected brominated flame retardants from consumer materials: the effects of content, temperature, and timescale

Abstract

The ubiquitous presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in indoor air, dust, and even in human tissue could be attributed to their emissions from BFR-containing products. Nevertheless, the emission behavior of BFRs, especially novel BFRs from consumer materials, to the indoor environment has still not been well understood. To evaluate the effects of chemical content, temperature, and time on the emissions of BFRs, we used a batch of small glass chambers to conduct emission tests on carpet, computer casings, sound insulation, circuit boards, decorative laminate, and PVC floors at temperatures from 20 to 80 °C, as well as different emission times of up to 35 days. Seven BFRs were extracted from the tested materials with contents ranging from 50 to 35,803 μg g⁻¹, and four BFRs were detected with emission rates between 5.9 and 418 pg g⁻¹ h⁻¹ at room temperature (20 °C); 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) was considered to be the dominant compound, which was found in and could be emitted from all of the tested materials. Emission rates are significantly and positively correlated with both the contents of tested materials and the elevated temperature. These results indicate that BFR-containing products have the potential to be a major source of indoor contamination.