Decabromodiphenyl ether BDE

Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a major industrial product from the polybrominated diphenyl ethers used as flame retardants derivatives of this product have been detected in the environment. After exposure to the land surface, these contaminants adsorb on soil materials and may reach the atmosphere as particulate matter these particulates are subsequently subject to photolytic reactions. In this context, Ahn et al. (2006) studied photolysis of BDE-209 adsorbed on clay minerals, metal oxides, and sediments, under sunhght and UV dark irradiation. Dark and light control treatments during UV and sunlight irradiation showed no disappearance of BDE-209 during the experiments. Data on half-lives and rate constants of BDE-209 adsorbed on subsurface minerals and sediments, as determined by Ahn et al. (2006) and extracted from the literature, are shown in Table 16.6. 

Morck A, Klasson Wehler E. 2001. Metabolism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) in the rat. Organohalogen Compounds 52 9-12. 

Stapleton, H. M., Brazil, B., et al. (2006) In vivo and in vitro debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) by juvenile rainbow trout and common carp. Environmental Science and Technology, 40(15) 4653 658. 

See E Van den Steen, A Covad, VL Jaspers, etal. 2007. Accumulation, tissue-specific distribution and debromination of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Environmental Pollution HM Stapleton, M Alaee, RJ Letcher and JE Baker. 2004. Debromination of the Flame Retardant Decabromodiphenyl Ether by Juvenile Carp (Cyprinus carpio) following Dietary Exposure. Environmental Science and Technology 38 112-119 and HM Stapleton, B Brazil, RD Holbrook, et al. 2006. 

In Vivo and In Vitro Debromination of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE 209) by Juvenile RainbowTrout and Common Carp. Environmental Science and Technology 40 4653-4658. 

B Johnson-Restrepo, KKannan, R Addinkand DH Adams. 2005. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in a Marine Foodweb of Coastal or da. Environmental Science and Technology 39 8243-8250 and HM Stapleton, B Brazil, RD Holbrook, etal. 2006. In Vivo and In Vitro Debromination of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE 209) by Juvenile Rainbow Trout and Common Carp. Environmental Science and Technology A0 A653-A658. 

The analysis of BDEs has been reviewed by Stapleton [10] Kierkegaard, Sellstrom, and McLachlan [93] Wang and Li [90] and Covaci et al. [88]. Because BDEs have similar physical and chemical properties to polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (and, in fact, the same naming conventions are used for BDEs as PCBs), similar methods have also been used for their analysis. With the exception of the higher brominated BDEs (i.e., certain octa-, nona-, and decaBDEs), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC—MS) and related techniques are the methods of choice for determination of BDEs from complex samples [6,94]. Decabromodiphenyl ether, BDE-209, is thermally unstable and is observed to debrominate during analysis by GC consequently, LC methods of analysis are preferred. LC methods are also preferred for BDE metabolites and transformation products, which are often sufficiently polar to require derivitization for analysis by GC derivitization is not required for LC analysis. 

There is a huge variety of PBDEs considering that there might be from one to ten bromine atoms bound to the diphenyl ether molecule. Among all the PBDEs, the commercial mixtures of decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE), octabromodiphenyl ether (octa-BDE) and pentabromodiphenyl ether (penta-BDE) are the products that are most found in the environment. Related to octa-BDE and penta-BDE mixtures, their commercial use was banned in the European Union in 2004 and that year their leading manufacturers in North America stopped producing them on a voluntary basis [2], Regarding the deca-BDE mixture, since July 2008, its use has been... 

In an unprecedented step, the European Parliament has voted to ban two chemicals for which risk assessments are still pending. The chemicals, octabromodiphenylether and decabromodiphenyl ether, were lumped together with penta-BDE during a debate on the EC s proposed ban on that chemical, which is based on a completed risk assessment. All three chemicals are used as flame retardants. Parliamentarians backed the call to extend a ban on penta-BDE to octa-BDE, which is used in office equipment and domestic electrical appliances, by mid-2003. It is claimed that initial results of the ongoing risk assessments already indicate that the chemical is an environmental and public health hazard. MEPs have set a 2006 deadline for banning deca-BDE, adding that the ban should not come into force if the final results of the risk assessment show that deca-BDE is harmless. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT... 

Fig. 16.19 GC-ECD chromatograms showing appearance of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners, after sunlight irradiation of BDE-209 (retention time = 88.7 min) adsorbed on montmorillonite, at different times. Reprinted with permission from Ahn MY, Filley TR, Jafvert CT, Nies L, Hua I, Bezares-Cruz J (2006) Photodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether adsorbed onto clay minerals, metal oxides, and sediment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 40 215-220. Copyright 2006. American Chemical Society...

SCHER. 2005. Opinion on Update of the risk assessment of bis(pentabromophenyl) ether (decabromodiphenyl ether) . Adopted 18 March, 2005. DG SANCO. European Commission. 12See e.g. critical comments from the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, the bromine producers lobby organisation, on www.bsef.com/science/scientific-studies-4/deca-bde-2/. Comments by DG Sanco Unit C7 on a previous draft of this chapter e-mail sent to us on 17 July, 2009. 

Backcoating of upholstery fabrics, using decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE) or hexabro-mocyclododecane, antimony trioxide, and an acrylic latex, is effective for flame resistance, but there are toxicity concerns. The use of synthetic barrier fabrics (i.e., interior fire-blocking) may remove the need for chemical backcoating. 

Representative Chemicals Heptabromodiphenyl-ether (HepBDE) Nonabromodiphenyl ether (NoBDE) Tetrabromodiphenyl ether (TeBDE) Elexabromodiphenyl ether (HeBDE) Octabro-modiphenyl Ether (OBDE) Pentabromodiphenyl ether (PeDBE) Decabromodiphenyl ether (De-BDE)... 

BDE-154 is a component of the commercially available octa-BDE, which is a complex mixture consisting typically of 0.5% pentabromodiphenyl ether isomers, 12% hexabromodiphenyl ether isomers, -45% heptabromodiphenyl ether isomers, 33% octaBDE isomers, 10% nonabromodiphenyl ether isomers and 0.7% decabromodiphenyl ether. It is used as a flame retardant in plastics for electrical and electronic equipment. 

FIGURE 15.45 Decabromodiphenyl ether, congener BDE-209 (a) upper, total ion chromatograph showing detection of BDE-209 in an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic extract (a) lower, product ion mass spectrum of BDE-209 showing the loss of Brj from each of the ions of the molecular ion cluster (b) %RSD in the chart is obtained from raw peak area data for a standard solution run after 10 injections of the ABS extract. 

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