Objectives and Scope
The Jennifer Altman Foundation has commissioned the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production to review available information relative to the uses and potential alternatives for two brominated flame retardants, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecane HBCD. The objective of this study is to accomplish the following:
- Investigate TBBPA and HBCD product and application information that is available in the public domain.
- Identify potential alternatives to the products identified.
- Conduct a preliminary and qualitative review
of potential alternatives. This study presents a high level overview of the findings. No chemical analyses, toxicological studies, performance evaluations, or economic assessments were included as part of this study.
This paper is organized into three major sections as follows:
Section I: TBBPA & HBCD Uses The various applications and uses of TBBPA and HBCD are described.
Section II: Potential Alternatives & Initial Assessment The potential alternatives for the various TBBPA and HBCD uses are identified, as well as an initial identification of the key health, environmental, and performance concerns for these alternatives.
Section III: Recommendations and Conclusions The overall conclusions from this study are provided, as well as recommendations for further research of TBBPA and HBCD alternatives.
The information for this report was generated by the following methods:
- Literature search of publicly available information, and
- Information requests and discussions with manufacturers of products containing HBCD and TBBPA flame retardants, as well as manufacturers of products containing alternative flame retardant materials.
Because the study does not include an in-depth evaluation of the environmental, technical performance, or economic impact for these alternatives. This study will not recommend specific alternatives for TBBPA and HBCD. Instead it will discuss additional steps to be taken before specific recommendations can be made for viable alternatives. It is outside of the scope of this report to assess the possible environmental and human health risks associated with TBBPA and HBCD.