Novel brominated flame retardants - A review of their occurrence in indoor air, dust, consumer goods and food

This critical review summarizes the occurrence of 63 novel brominated flame retardants (NBERs) in indoor air, dust, consumer goods and food. It includes their EU registration and (potential) risks. The increasing application of NBERs calls for more research on their occurrence, environmental fate and toxicity. This review reports which NBERs are actually being studied, which are detected and which are of most concern. It also connects data from the European Chemical Association on NBERs with other scientific information. Large knowledge gaps emerged for 28 (out of 63) NBERs, which were not included in any monitoring programs or other studies. This also indicates the need for optimized analytical methods including all NBERs. Further research on indoor environments, emission sources and potential leaching is also necessary. High concentrations of 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB), bis(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE) were often reported. The detection of hexabromobenzene (HBB), pentabromotoluene (PBT), 1,4-dimethyltetrabromobenzene (TBX), 4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)-1,2-dibromocyclohexane (DBE-DBCH) and tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2,3-dibromopropyl) ether (TBBPA-BDBPE) also raises concern.