Pentabromodiphenyl ether BDE

Hakk H, Earson G, Klasson-Wehler E, et al. 1999. Tissue disposition, excretion, and metabolism of 2,2, 4,4, 5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Organohalogen Compounds 40 337-340. 

PBDEs are commercially available as three products penta-, octa-, and deca-BDE. All of these products are mixtures of several congeners. The compositions of these three products, as measured in our laboratory at Indiana University, are given in Table 4. The penta-product contains primarily 2,2/,4,4/-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), 2,2, 4,4, 5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99), and 2,2, 4,4, 6-pentabromodiphcnyl ether (BDE-100) in a ratio of about 7 10 2. The octa-product contains primarily 2,2, 3,4,4, 5, 6-heptabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-183), 2,2, 3,3, 4,4, 5,6 -... 

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... 

This article reports on two related pieces of news firstly that Albemarle Corp. of the USA has introduced a new reactive flame retardant, Saytex RX 8500 , as a replacement for pentabromodiphenyl ether (penta-BDE) in the production of flame-retardant PU foam. Secondly that Great Lakes Chemical Corp., the only manufacturer of penta-BDE, has announced plans to voluntarily phase out and cease production of this, and also octa-BDE, at the end of 2004. 

OSHA PB PBB PBT PEC penta-BDE PFOS PNEC POP PPE PPORD PRODUCE European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Persistent and bioaccumulating Polybromobiphenyl(s) Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic Predicted environmental concentration Pentabromodiphenyl ether Perfluorooctane sulfonate Predicted no-effect concentration Persistent organic pollutant Personal protective equipment Process/product-oriented research and development Piloting REACH on downstream use communication in Europe... 

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. 

Use of some of the flame retardants, particularly brominated ones (PBDEs, or poly-brominated diphenyl esters), was prohibited by European Union Risk Assessment program. Among them were pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE), which was used primarily in polyurethane foam, and octabromodiphenyl ether (octaBDE), used mainly in electrical and electronic equipment and automobiles (both were prohibited by EU in August, 2004). In the United States, production of pentaBDE was ceased in 2004 and its mannfacture and import into the United States is prohibited. Octa-BDE was schednled to be prohibited in 2006 in a number of states in the United States... 

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