PBDEs are harmful chemicals that are widely used in the manufacturing of consumer products.
Although they were banned in the U.S. in 2013, PBDEs still pose a significant threat to ecosystems and human health across North America and worldwide.
In this article, we’re going to be exploring how these harmful chemicals enter our ecosystem, specifically in the Great Lakes region of North America.
PBDEs enter the Great Lakes in two ways:
In the Great Lakes, PBDEs enter the water through two main pathways. The first is from industrial sources, such as manufacturing plants and waste incineration plants.
The second is atmospheric deposition, which occurs when rain or wind carries PBDEs into the lakes.
Industrial sources can contribute to PBDE contamination in two ways:
- They use brominated flame retardants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in manufacturing processes.
- By releasing these compounds during waste incineration at facilities such as landfills or power plants that burn hazardous materials like an electronic waste (e-waste).
Industrial sources include waste incineration plants, metal smelters, and scrap-metal recycling facilities.
Great Lakes residents may be exposed to PBDEs through the air, water, and food they consume. The primary sources of exposure to PBDEs are:
- industrial sources such as waste incineration plants, metal smelters, and scrap-metal recycling facilities; and
- consumer products such as upholstery, mattresses, carpeting, and textiles.
Atmospheric deposition includes rain and wind that carries PBDEs through the air.
Atmospheric deposition is the most common pathway for PBDEs to enter the Great Lakes.
This includes rain and wind that carries PBDEs through the air and natural atmospheric processes such as dry deposition and fog scavenging.
PBDEs are released into the atmosphere when products containing them are used or stored (e.g., furniture, carpets) or when these products are disposed of in landfills and incinerators.
PBDEs are unintentionally released into the atmosphere when used or stored in certain products.
These are just some examples of the ways PBDEs enter the environment. For example, they may be unintentionally released into the atmosphere when used or stored in certain products.
If you have a television or computer older than about seven years old, it likely contains BDE-47.
Newer televisions and computers don’t use this substance because it was banned from manufacturing in 2004 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
BDE-47 can also be found in flame retardants used on new furniture before 2004, when these chemicals were phased out by law in California.
The ban did not apply to existing furniture that already contained these compounds; therefore, if you have old furniture with flame retardants, there is still a chance that your house could contain PBDEs.
Conclusion
We’ve just looked at how PBDEs enter the Great Lakes. One of the most exciting things about this topic is that PBDEs are unintentionally released from various sources when used or stored in certain products.
This means that it’s up to all of us to do our part and ensure we’re not contributing to pollution by using safer products and disposing of them appropriately.