Standard measurement method for the determination of polybrominated flame retardants (pentabromo diphenylether, octabromo diphenylether) in products | Umweltbundesamt

Flame retardants (FR) are being used in various products, e.g. electrical components, synthetics, textiles and furniture foams, in order to reduce their flammability. Polybrominated diphenylethers belong to the most important halogenated FRs: they are – due to the production process – bromohomologous mixes of different isomers and congeneres (ΣBr = 1 to 10). Technical products based on penta (PENTA-BDE), octa (OCTA-BDE) and decabromo diphenylether (DECA-BDE) are available as commercial products. Numerous studies prove the persistence and ubiquitous spread of PBDE in the different environmental spheres and indicate bioaccumulation.