Recent research detected flame retardants in common household items that were made from recycled black plastic such as cooking utensils.
Recent research detected flame retardants in common household items that were made from recycled black plastic such as cooking utensils. The same study later received a correction because the math was off, regardless of the paper, the health effects of this chemical remain unclear. thermoset injection molding
Much of what we eat is cooked or contained in packages and utensils made with recycled black plastic, from takeout trays to spatulas and other household goods. A new study suggests that recycled black plastic can sometimes contain potentially toxic flame retardants.
Flame-retardant chemicals have been added to plastics used in electronic devices since the 1970s to help prevent electrical fires. But many of these chemicals can last longer than the devices they were originally added to and exist in products made from the recycled plastic. The exact amount of e-waste that ends up being recycled into new products is a subject of debate, but some estimates suggest that some 4.2 million tons may be reused around the World annually.
“As a class, flame retardants are notorious for their persistence, tendency to bioaccumulate [build up in living tissues], and toxicity,” said Megan Liu, science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, an advocacy group that aims to reduce toxic chemicals in products and the environment. Liu is the first author of a study, published in the journal Chemosphere, that assessed levels of flame-retardant residues in household goods.
“We were concerned about human exposure to the flame retardants used in electronics,” Liu said in an interview with Live Science. “We suspected that flame retardants were contaminating household products through electronic waste recycling and creating unexpected exposures.”
For this study, 203 household products were selected to test for contamination with flame retardants based on how often the products were made of black plastic, and whether or not previous studies of the products had found similar contamination. Black plastic is the most common color used in electronic products.
The products selected included toys, hair accessories, food containers, and cookware which were all screened for bromine (a component of brominated flame retardants or BFRs). Products identified as having high levels of bromine (over 50 parts per million) were further analyzed for BFRs as well as a second class of flame retardants called organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs).
Both classes of these chemicals have been linked to health issues such as bone weakness, developmental disorders, and thyroid dysfunction in both animal and population-level human studies. However, very little is known about how much exposure is required for a person to experience the negative health effects, or whether the method of exposure could make a difference.
Initially, the screening found that 1 in 10 products contained high levels of bromine, and within those products, further analyses revealed high levels of both BFRs and OPFRs with two-thirds of the products containing both types of the flame retardants. Of these products, the highest contamination was found in beaded necklaces and party beads, with one toy pirate medallion necklace containing up to 22,800 ppm, which was the highest level found.
As previously mentioned, this study had an error and received correction.
Here is what happened and why the math was off:
Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) was one of the flame retardants that was analyzed in this study. It was estimated that in a day around 34,700 nanograms of this contaminant could be transferred to a person using a contaminated utensil to cook/serve food.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines the “safe daily limits” of this chemical to be 420,000 ng per day, however, the authors calculated the limit as being 42,000 ng per day. Using their calculations, the average exposure to BDE-209 was approaching the “safe limit” rather than needing to be around 12 times higher to reach it.
“We regret this error and have updated it in our manuscript,” the authors wrote, going on to say, “This calculation error does not affect the overall conclusion of the paper.”
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has shown that flame retardants can leach into food and be absorbed through our skin. But according to Michael Bockstaller, a professor of materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, it is difficult to determine if using these products could lead to health problems.
“There is no general answer because the impact of these materials depends on the type of chemical, concentration, type of exposure, and individual circumstance,” Bockstaller said in an interview with Live Science.
The researchers noted that not all flame retarded chemicals are linked to health issues, and most of the goods in this study did not contain any of the chemicals. The bromine-containing products made from recycled black plastics the researchers identified included many common household items like vegetable peelers, toy cars, and slotted spoons.
Additionally, some of the researchers admitted to owning kitchen utensils made from recycled black plastic, including Liu, but replaced them with wood and stainless-steel versions after conducting the study.
“These are products that are often used on a daily basis, and with the findings of multiple flame retardants in each product, this creates concern about compounded effects,” Liu said.
Although additional research is required to establish how much exposure comes from day-to-day use and how much exposure presents a health risk, Lui hopes that the growing body of research into the longevity of these chemicals and potential health hazards will lead to the development of safer plastics.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://www.livescience.com/health/spatulas-and-takeout-containers-made-from-recycled-black-plastic-may-carry-flame-retardants
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004565352402811X
https://api.globalewaste.org/publications/file/297/global-e-wasteor-2024.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0045653524022173
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969722053451
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653513017293
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412014002736
https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/3/195
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/Agents/flame_retardants
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