Fire retardant discovered in wastewater plants that discharge into

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 11, 2008 | by Julia Scott

Klosterhaus said there is potential for at least one of the chemical compounds in Firemaster 550, tetrabromophthalate or TBPH, to accumulate in the sediment of San Francisco Bay.

She is conducting tests to determine whether any component of Firemaster 550 is reaching the Bay from the wastewater treatment plants, and whether Bay-dwelling species have already started to absorb it.

Four years after it was phased out, PentaDBE is still regularly found in wildlife and bird eggs in the Bay in concentrations that are among the world's highest for a single body of water, according to Klosterhaus. PBDEs are still regularly found in breast milk as well.

The TBPH is of greatest concern to Klosterhaus because it has been in wide commercial use for at least two decades as a flame- retardant plasticizer in PVC pipes but has not received extensive testing from the EPA or any other source.

Scientists note that its chemical makeup is very similar to DEHP, a harmful phthalate that Congress banned from use in children's toys just last month.

"TBPH is a phthalate and there is growing concern about some of these phthalates, as quite a number of phthalate compounds are being found to have effects on the male hormone system. I know of no toxicological data on TBPH," said Birnbaum.

How the chemicals came to be discovered in the Bay Area's wastewater is one of the most urgent questions the recent study poses, and it will be one of the hardest to answer.

No one has proven that Firemaster 550, or any other flame retardant chemical for that matter, actually leaches from furniture, mattresses and car seats into the dust that surrounds us. Klosterhaus, a co-author of the Boston study, hypothesizes that the dust is reaching wastewater plants after washing down laundry, sink and shower drains, as well as storm drains in the street.

Bob Luedeka, executive director of the Polyurethane Foam Association, doesn't think anyone can point to the treated foam in couches and car seats as an explanation for finding Firemaster 550 in such high concentrations. He noted that the product has only been in use since 2005.

"The question, is how could it get out there? I don't know where it comes from. I want to find out what other products might contain these same chemical fingerprints," said Luedeka. "Obviously, this has some significant concern for the industry because it could have far-reaching implications."

Still others say the solution to the concerns relating to Firemaster 550 and any other new fire retardant product is to limit them at the state level.

A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) would gradually replace the most hazardous brominated fire retardants with a special fabric requirement that would resist smoldering cigarettes.

It would empower the Department of Toxic Substances Control to analyze all chemicals used in fire retardants against their safety benefits and allow the agency to prohibit the most dangerous ones. The toxicity data would likely be provided by the chemical manufacturers, although the state would be able to direct them to do independent testing as well, said Bart Broome, a senior assistant in Leno's office.