Flame retardants Legislative issues

Recent legislation issues in Europe have involved the end-of-life disposal of vehicles and electrical goods. Food contact legislation has been updated. Plasticisers, brominated flame retardants and biocides have also been the subject of EU legislation. The EU s proposals on the testing of chemicals are expected to create difficulties for the plastics and additives industries, although compensations may become apparent. 

Pressures to introduce restrictive legislation in Europe have eased as the debate has moved from the political arena to focus on assessment and management of risk. The main health and environment issue centres on halogen-based FRs, for possible formation of dioxin-related products such as brominated dioxins/furans by polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBBE) under combustion conditions. These are very effective flame retardants and are widely used in polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene. Only a few of 75 identified brominated dioxin ionomers and 135 brominated furan ionomers are toxic, and they are only present in low concentrations in combustion. Less-toxic furans tend to be formed more than dioxins, and brominated dioxine/furans are less toxic than their chlorinated counterparts. 

Legislative Issues. The European Union s RoHS and WEEE directives (the WEEE directive addresses waste electronic equipment and recycling requirements) affect not only the lead used in printed circuits, but the flame retardants used in the resin system as well.The RoHS directive restricts the use of specific types of brominated flame retardants. The restricted class of compounds consists of polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybromi-nated biphenyl oxides (PBBOs), also called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The generic structure of these compounds is shown in Fig. 7.13. Specific compounds within these classes of flame retardants can vary in their toxicity, and given the dynamic nature of legislative initiatives, it is important to check the current status of these compounds when making decisions on what materials to use. 

There continue to be perception issues over some species of flame retardants, specifically relating to persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT). Most of these PBT issues are legislatively mandated in the European Union (EU), but these issues are beginning to show up at the state level in the United States and at the national level in Japan and a few other Pacific Rim nations. In addition to PBT issues, there is an increased requirement for recycling plastics used in commercial products, which is most prevalent in the area of information technology equipment (ITE). ITE sale and use in the EU is covered by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) protocol, which dictates that plastics used for ITE need to be either recycled or incinerated after use. Due to the perception issues behind halogenated flame retardants, some have been deselected for ITE applications in favor of nonhalogenated flame retardants. So with the emphasis... 

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