PBDEs: Industry Reduction, Elimination & Alternatives

Several manufacturers have reduced, phased out, or totally eliminated the use of PBDEs in their products and are using alternative flame retardants. Other industries are developing new types of polymers and plastics that don't burn, and hence don't need flame retardant chemicals. See the links below for more information.

Elimination of use or reduced use:

DELL (2005). Safer Products--Industry Leaders: DELL, http://safer-products.org/page.php?p=indu&s=dell.

IKEA (2005). Safer Products--Industry Leaders: IKEA, http://safer-products.org/page.php?p=indu&s=ikea.

Alternatives:

LCSP (2005). Decabromodiphenylether: an investigation of non-halogen substitutes in electronic enclosure and textile applications, downloadable at http://www.sustainableproduction.org/proj.clea.publ.shtml
(Lowell, MA, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts at Lowell), pp. 1-63.

McPherson, A., Thorpe, B., and Blake, A. (2004). Brominated flame retardants in dust on computers: the case for safer chemicals and better computer design (Clean Production Action), pp. 3-43.

Scandinavian-based recommendations of alternatives to Deca-PBEs in the electronic, textile and plastic industries: http://safer-products.org/page.php?p=flam&s=busi

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