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Ecology Center Aids Study of Toxic Fire Retardants

Toxic Computer Dust Found Nationwide

By Ted Sylvester
August/September Issue, 2004

A recent study found toxic chemicals in dust samples taken from computers around the country, including locations in Lansing and Ann Arbor. The study, conducted by the Computer Take-Back Campaign and Clean Production Action, with assistance from the Ecology Center and the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM), detected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in all of the dust samples tested.

One of the most widely used class of flame retardant chemicals in manufacturing, especially the electronics industry, PBDEs are added to computers, TVs, furniture cushions, upholstery textiles, carpet backings, mattresses, cars, buses and aircraft, and construction materials. These chemicals cause reproductive and neurological problems in animal lab tests, and increasingly are being found in human tissue and breast milk samples here in the U.S. and abroad. U.S. women have the highest levels of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in their breast milk in the world. BFRs, especially PBDEs, are persistent in the environment and contaminate the food chain, animals, and people (see “Toxic Fire Retardants Found in U.S. Women’s Breast Milk,” From the Ground Up, Oct./Nov. 2003).

“With PBDEs rapidly accumulating in our bodies, possibly through exposure to everyday dust in our homes and workplaces, our decision makers need to mandate a shift to less toxic alternatives throughout the entire electronics industry by banning these harmful chemicals,” stated Mary Beth Doyle of the Ecology Center.

There has been considerable effort both in the U.S. and Europe over the last two years to assess the potential public health and environmental impacts of PBDEs, with focus on penta-, octa-, and deca-BDEs. Available scientific data prompted the European Union, the international leader in restricting industrial compounds, to enact a planned phase-out of penta and octa in consumer electronics sold in Europe by 2006, and a presumptive ban of deca. However, deca, the most prevalent PBDE in commerce, has been fiercely defended by the bromine industry and is still used in Europe and the United States. But in addition to its direct toxicity, deca, experts say, is slowly transformed into lower brominated compounds that are clearly toxic, and which stay around for hundreds of years.

Steps are being taken to eliminate all PBDEs in Michigan. Representative Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) has introduced legislation to ban PBDE use by 2007 and to immediately require annual reporting of all uses of PBDEs. In light of recent findings however, Kolb is working on changes to the legislation to speed up the ban on penta and octa and to include a ban on deca as well. “This study helps to illustrate the urgent need for my legislation to be enacted without delay,” said Kolb.

The June report evaluates the latest advancements in company research and adoption of safer alternatives to BFRs. Companies such as Apple, Toshiba, Dell, NEC, and Hewlett-Packard are redesigning their electronic products to avoid the use of toxic fire retardants while still meeting top-level fire safety standards. Much of this activity comes in response to the phase-out legislation in Europe, which directly affects all manufacturers who sell to European customers.

The full report is available at www.computertakeback.com.

For more information on BFRs, see www.ecocenter.org

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