Report of the New York State Task Force on Flame Retardant Safety March, 2013 i Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................................................... VI TEXT ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... IX GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................................................... XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................... XVIII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... XIX 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 NEW YORK STATE TASK FORCE ON FLAME RETARDANT SAFETY ...................................................................... 1 1.2 BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 STRATEGIES FOR REPORTING ON DECABROMODIPHENYL ETHER AND IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVES ................. 3 1.4 FIRE SAFETY IN NEW YORK STATE ..................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 The Incidence of Fire in New York ............................................................................................................. 9 1.4.2 Health Impacts to Fire Fighters ................................................................................................................. 9 1.4.3 Fire Safety Efforts .................................................................................................................................... 10 1.4.4 New York State Requirements .................................................................................................................. 11 1.4.5 Federal Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.4.6 Voluntary Industry Standards .................................................................................................................. 12 1.4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 13 2 DECABROMODIPHENYL ETHER ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 PBDE NOMENCLATURE .................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 CONGENER COMPOSITION OF COMMERCIAL MIXTURES ................................................................................... 15 2.3 BACKGROUND, PRODUCTION AND USE ............................................................................................................. 17 2.4 ANALYTICAL APPROACHES AND ISSUES ........................................................................................................... 19 2.5 DEBROMINATION .............................................................................................................................................. 20 2.5.1 Photolysis Studies..................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5.2 Degradation and Metabolism Studies ...................................................................................................... 23 2.6 ENVIRONMENTAL PATTERNS ............................................................................................................................ 25 2.6.1 Atmosphere ............................................................................................................................................... 25 2.6.2 Aquatic Systems ........................................................................................................................................ 28 2.7 ECOTOXICITY .................................................................................................................................................... 30 2.7.1 Aquatic Toxicity ....................................................................................................................................... 32 2.7.2 Terrestrial Toxicity................................................................................................................................... 33 2.7.3 Bioavailability, Bioaccumulation, and Biomagnification ........................................................................ 34 2.7.3.1 Aquatic Food Chain Bioaccumulation ................................................................................................. 35 2.7.3.2 Avian Bioaccumulation .......................................................................................................................... 37 2.7.3.3 Terrestrial Food Chain Bioaccumulation ............................................................................................. 38 2.7.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 39 2.8 HUMAN EXPOSURE ........................................................................................................................................... 41 2.8.1 BDE-209 in Food and House Dust........................................................................................................... 41 2.8.2 Presence of BDE-209 in Human Blood, Sera and Breast Milk ................................................................ 44 2.8.3 Human Exposure Estimates ..................................................................................................................... 47 2.8.4 Human Exposure to PBDE Mixtures........................................................................................................ 48 2.8.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 49 2.9 HEALTH EFFECTS .............................................................................................................................................. 49 2.9.1 Developmental Neurotoxicity ................................................................................................................... 51 2.9.2 Liver Toxicity ........................................................................................................................................... 58 2.9.3 Thyroid and Endocrine Toxicity ............................................................................................................... 60 2.9.4 Reproductive Toxicity ............................................................................................................................... 61 2.9.5 Carcinogenicity ........................................................................................................................................ 62 ii 2.9.6 Summary of Reference Doses for BDE-209 ............................................................................................. 65 2.9.7 Summary of Cancer Potency Factors for BDE-209 ................................................................................. 66 2.9.8 Comparison of BDE-209 Exposure Estimates to BDE-209 Reference Doses .......................................... 67 2.9.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 67 2.10 ACTIONS BY THE US EPA ............................................................................................................................... 68 2.10.1 US EPA 2009 Action Plan ...................................................................................................................... 68 2.10.2 US EPA Announcement of DecaBDE Industry Phase-Out Initiative ..................................................... 69 2.10.3 US EPA PBDE Project Plan .................................................................................................................. 70 2.10.4 US EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) ................................................................................................ 72 2.10.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 72 2.11 ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN UNION ............................................................................................................... 72 2.11.1 European Union Risk Assessment .......................................................................................................... 73 2.11.2 The RoHS Directive ................................................................................................................................ 75 2.11.3 Identification