POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS (PBDES) - NEW POLLUTANTS, OLD CHALLENGES.

Abstract

In this paper, we review those data which have recentently became available for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environment samples, and human tissues from several world areas. The PBDEs are flame-retardant chemicals that are added to a variety of consumer products to make them difficult to burn like computers, electrical equipments, carpets and upholstery used in household and business furnishings, cars, buses, trucks, and airplanes. PBDEs are additives mixed into polymers and are not chemically bound to the plastic or textiles and therefore may separate or leach from the surface of their product applications into the environment. The presence of these pollutants has become of increasing concern to scientists over the past decade. Review of the use, occurrence, and toxicity of PBDEs indicates many parallels between some PBDEs, PCBs, and other polyhalogenated persistent organic pollutants, and suggests that the PBDEs may be a significant environmental challenge in the future. The toxicological endpoints of high levels of PBDEs in humans are likely to be thyroid hormone disruption, neurodevelopmental deficits and cancer.