Бромированные антипирены: состав, применение и контроль содержания.

Class of chemical compounds
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. The brominated variety of commercialized chemical flame retardants comprise approximately 19.7% of the market. They are effective in plastics and textile applications like electronics, clothes, and furniture.

390,000 tons of brominated flame retardants were sold in 2011. This represents 19.7% of the flame retardants market.

The electronics industry accounts for the greatest consumption of BFRs. In computers, BFRs are used in four main applications: in printed circuit boards, in components such as connectors, in plastic covers, and in electrical cables. BFRs are also used in a multitude of products, including, but not exclusively, plastic covers of television sets, carpets, pillows, paints, upholstery, and domestic kitchen appliances.

Until recently testing for BFR has been cumbersome. Cycle time, cost, and level of expertise required for the test engineer has precluded the implementation of any screening of plastic components in a manufacturing or in a product qualification/validation environment. Recently, with the introduction of a new analytical instrument IA Mass, screening of plastic material alongside a manufacturing line became possible. A five minute detection cycle and a 20 minute quantification cycle is available to test and to qualify plastic parts as they reach the assembly line. IA Mass identifies the presence of bromine (PBB, PBDE, and some others), but cannot characterize all the BFRs present in the plastic matrix. In February 2009, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) released two certified reference materials (CRMs) to help analytical laboratories better detect two classes of flame retardants, namely polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). The two reference materials were custom made to contain all relevant PBDEs and PBBs at levels close to the legal limit set out in the RoHS Directive of 1 g/kg for the sum of PBBs and PBDEs.

Many brominated chemicals are under increasing criticism in their use in household furnishings and where children would come into contact with them. Some believe PBDEs could have harmful effects on humans and animals. Increasing concern has prompted some European countries to ban some of them, following the precautionary principle more common in Europe. Some PBDEs are lipophilic and bioaccumulative. PBDEs have been found in people all over the world. Some brominated flame retardants were identified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to both humans and the environment and were suspected of causing neurobehavioral effects and endocrine disruption. As an example, in Europe, brominated flame retardants have gone through REACH and when risks were identified appropriate risk management options were put in place; such was the case for commercial Penta BDE and commercial Octa BDE.