Brominated+Flame+Retardant

Vichhay Roeung Lamaya Mapp Lola Ackinsoda

 Brominated Flame Retardant:

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Abstract: Our group’s topic is going to be about flame retardant. People use this chemical to prevent fires from happening. Flame-retardants are used to reduce fire risks in all sorts of materials susceptible to burn such as plastics, wood, textiles, paper, and natural fibred building materials. Many studies have been carried out and show that modern flame-retardants, when appropriately applied, can be used in consumer products without significant risk to human health or the environment. You should use flame-retardants, you are guaranteed to have 15 times more available escape time; Only 25% of the heat released; 50% less material consumed by the fire; One third of the toxic gases (expressed at CO equivalents) released; Little difference in the production of smoke.

Background: Flame retardant is mainly found in electronics like televisions, iPods, and radios. This chemical prevents these products from catching on fire. It is a toxic chemical that has been brought up to questioning for a while and is dangerous to humans. It is used in the United States.

Chemistry: Solid materials do not burn directly. They must be decomposed by heat to release flammable gases. Visible flames appear when these flammable gases burn with the oxygen in the air. If solid materials do not break down into gases, then they will only smoulder slowly and often self extinguish, particularly if they form a stable carbonaceous barrier, which prevents access of the flame to the underlying material. Materials such as wood do in fact burn vigorously, because once ignited the heat generated breaks down long-chain solid molecules into smaller molecules which transpire as gases. The gas flame itself is maintained by the action of high energy radicals which decompose molecules to give free carbon which can react with oxygen in air to burn to CO, generating heat energy.

Human Health Implication: There are many type of flame retardant but the ones that most used, cheap, and massed produce is brominated flame retardant. Bromine affects the lungs, kidney, and stomach, which cause some gastrointestinal malfunctioning and both effects as to the immune malfunctioning when made into flame retardant. The effects of brominated flame retardant mainly just disrupts the body such as in the brain and genetic material growth over a period of time such as it’s other effect that is the cause of Cancer.

Environmental/Economic/Politics: The effects of the degrading of brominated flame retardant is that it can build up, going into the water system and even the atmosphere being a widespread environmental pollution. Which it does not take long to degrade, it’s just a long time before the end of the process of degrading. Such as the product in which bromine is infused with can degrade and release it’s effects into the air mixing with the dust during it’s use or even at the factory when it found to be the most at. When taken to disposal or recycling plants it will be incinerated or smelted which even release a more hazardous form of this product like hydrogen bromide. BFR have already been banned in Europe and parts of the U.S. even thou it is cheap there are many alternates such as better flame retardants and designs that have been made so it won’t need so much of the flame retardant. Having every products to be without this product unlike before the need for an alternate which we would not have TV’s and just more fire damage.

Summary: Over the years that Brominated Flame was used, the costs were not that of the benefits it has provided for future technology and fire resistance. The cost were cheap, there were millions of metric tons of this product made for the consumer's products. Such as one form of brominated flame retardant the third known, that is most used Deca-BDE in consumer’s electronics for a flame retardant plastic that would keep the plastic from bursting into flames in such products as computers and television. Brominated Flame Retardant works by its effectiveness to release bromine atoms or free radical as most referred it to then decompose in the fire. Mainly because fire is a chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen during a gas phrase which during it the gas phrase the bromine atoms lower the chemical reaction, reducing the heat being generated, slowing and even stopping the burning process. Being a most useful product there are many concerns about this product as it releases these bromine atoms during anytime as it is added to the other product. Being the long-term effects of it, such as cancer or other hazardous concerns reasons for why they banned most brominated flame-retardants. As more alternate are being used the concerns for brominated flame retardants are low but the effectiveness of brominated flame retardant is so great industries product still contain some amount of BFT for it’s effectiveness to stop the burning process.

Citation: Birnbaum, Linda S. "Brominated Flame Retardants: Cause for Concern?" Rev. of Brominated Flame Retardants. Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 1 Jan. 2004. Http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2003/6559/6559.html . Web.

Wilson, Alex. "Brominated Flame Retardants." Environmental Building News. Web. .

Dr. Philpe Hope, Initials. (2008). //Ebfrip // . Retrieved from http://www.ebfrip.org/main-nav/our-substances/deca-bde/