In an article published on September 11, 2024, in the journal Chemosphere, Megan Liu from the non-profit organization Toxic-Free Future, Seattle, US, and co-authors investigated if black plastic household products are contaminated with banned and emerging flame retardants and if their presence could be linked to the recycling of electronics. Flame retardants such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are commonly added to electronics for fire prevention and have been connected to several human health outcomes. In the recycling of electronic products, their flame retardants may unintentionally end up in other plastic household items (FPF reported), including food contact articles (FPF reported) and toys (FPF reported).
The authors analyzed 203 products partly or completely made of black plastics and sold on the U.S. market with the majority being kitchenware (109). They screened bromine levels in all products. The 20 with the highest bromine levels (> 50 ppm) underwent further testing to find which BFRs and OPFRs were present. To this end, plastics were dissolved in toluene and dichloromethane (DCM) and applied to high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight (qTOF) mass spectrometry (MS). In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) was used to determine the plastic type of the 20 selected products.
Liu and co-authors detected bromine >50 ppm in 20 products including 9 kitchen utensils and 2 food service ware. The food service item with the greatest amount of bromine was a sushi tray with 18,600 ppm. Of the bromine-positive samples, 85% contained BFRs and/or OPFRs. The total concentration of assessed flame retardants reached levels of 22,800 mg/kg. Most frequently detected were tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA, CAS 79-94-7), decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209, CAS 1163-19-5), and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP, CAS 118-79-6) in 70% of the samples or more. Although BDE-209 is phased out in the US, EU, and China, it is still commonly present and at levels up to 1200 times higher than the EU’s limit of 10 ppm.
The study further found that flame retardant levels were higher in plastic types typically used in electronics such as styrene compared to types less typical for electronics such as nylon. Consequently, the authors link the chemicals’ presence to the recycling of e-waste into household articles. In their press release, Toxic-Free Future “urges the U.S. and states to ban poison plastics and harmful chemical additives through the Global Plastics Treaty and state policy.”
In January 2025, the authors published a corrigendum where they corrected the reference dose of BDE-209 for a 60 kg adult to 420,000 ng/day instead of and initially estimated 42,000 ng/day. Accordingly, “the calculated daily intake remains an order of magnitude lower than the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose,” the scientists clarify in the corrigendum.
Reference
Liu, M. et al. (2024). “From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about plastic recycling.” Chemosphere. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143319
Liu, M. et al. (2025). “Corrigendum to ‘From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about plastic recycling’ [Chemosphere 365 (2024) 143319].” Chemosphere. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143903
Read more
Sandee LaMotte (October 1, 2024). “Black-colored plastic used for kitchen utensils and toys linked to banned toxic flame retardants.” CNN
Toxic-Free Future (October 1, 2024). “First-ever study finds cancer-causing chemicals in black plastic food-contact items sold in the U.S.”
