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Table: Toxic Flame Retardants in Everyday Products

What We Found and Why It Matters

The 2024 study From E-Waste to Living Space found high levels of cancer-causing, hormone-disrupting flame retardant chemicals in a variety of household products made with black plastics including food serviceware, kitchen utensils, and toys.

What are brominated flame retardants?

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are a particularly concerning class of flame retardant chemicals due to their persistence in the environment, tendency to bioaccumulate, and known toxicity.

BFRs are part of a larger class of chemicals called organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs), which states like New York and Washington have begun regulating in plastic electronic casings. However, none of the OFRs found in the recycled plastic products tested in this study are currently regulated in the United States.

What are the health impacts?

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are associated with serious health effects, including cancer, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental harm.

TABLE

Brominated flame retardants found in consumer products

The table below lists the specific brominated flame retardants found in the 2024 study From E-Waste to Living Space, including the product categories they were found in and the number of occurrences. It also includes Information from other studies on reported health hazards and detections in people, wildlife, and the environment. This is not a comprehensive list of all known hazards and detections.

Brominated flame retardant (BFR) Product category & occurrence count  Reported health hazards Reported detections
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) Kitchen Utensils (7),
Toys (6),
Food Serviceware (1),
Hair Accessories (1)		 Found to cause cancer and endocrine effects in laboratory studies and associated with immunosuppression in humans.1-3 Indoor dust, soil, sediment, marine organisms, and human umbilical cord serum, breast milk, and tissue.4-6
Decabromodiphenyl ether

(BDE-209)

 Kitchen Utensils (6),
Toys (6),
Food Serviceware (1),
Hair Accessories (1)		 Linked to carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive harm in humans.7 Indoor air and dust, outdoor air, soil from electronic-waste sites, food, and human breast milk and serum.8-12
2,4,6-Tribromophenol

(2,4,6-TBP)

 Kitchen Utensils (7),
Toys (5),
Food Serviceware (1),
Hair Accessories (1)		 Associated with thyroid disruption in humans and mice.13-16 Indoor air and dust, outdoor air, surface water, soil, sludge, landfill leachates, and human breast milk, placenta, and tissue.18, 19
Decabromodiphenyl ethane

(DBDPE)

 Toys (6),
Kitchen Utensils (4),
Food Serviceware (1),
Hair Accessories (1)		 Associated with reproductive and developmental toxicity, hepatotoxicity, thyrotoxicity, and neurotoxicity in laboratory animal studies, and exposure in workers has been associated with altered thyroid activity.20-23 Indoor dust, soil (including from electronic-waste sites), sediment, birds, fish, and human tissue.24
2,4,6-Tris(2,4,6-

tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-

triazine

(TTBP-TAZ)

 Kitchen Utensils (7),
Toys (2),
Food Serviceware (1)		 Is converted to 2,4,6-TBP by human liver microsomes and may contribute to exposure.13-19 Indoor dust, including dust (and air) from electronic-waste recycling facilities.25
Tetrabromobisphenol A bis (2,3-dibromopropyl ether)

(TBBPA-BDBPE)

 Kitchen Utensils (2),
Toys (2),
Food Serviceware (1),
Hair Accessories (1)		 Potential for endocrine disruption and associated with reproductive effects in mice.26, 27 Indoor air and dust, and soil.26
1,1′-[ethane-1,2-diylbisoxy]bis[2,4,6-tribromobenzene]

(BTBPE)

 Toys (1) Leads to thyroid dysfunction and neurotoxicity in developing fish.28 Soil from electronic-waste sites, and human breast milk and serum.24, 28
α-Hexabromocyclododecane

(HBCD)

 Food Serviceware (1) Linked to reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects in animal studies.29 Indoor air and dust, animals, water, food, and human breast milk.30

Study: Toxic Flame Retardants in Recycled Plastics (2024)

A peer-reviewed study found toxic flame retardants usually associated with electronics showing up where they’re not expected: in black plastic household products including a takeout sushi tray, spatulas and other kitchen utensils, as well as costume beads, travel games, and other toys.

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black-plastic-kitchen-utensil

References:

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