chemical regulations Archives

March 4, 2025

Unregulated flame retardants can break down into toxic byproducts, study shows

By Douglas Main

New research shows that two unregulated and widely used flame retardants found in many electronic devices and touted by industry as non-toxic break down into harmful molecules that can pose a health risk to fish and potentially other creatures, including humans.

The chemicals in question, large molecules called polymers, have largely escaped regulation as industry has argued that the materials are unlikely to degrade or make their way into living creatures. Many are even marketed as non-hazardous or environmentally friendly.

But a study published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability found evidence suggesting that is not true. Researchers reported finding dozens of smaller molecules caused by the breakdown of polymeric flame retardants in soil, dust, and air outside electronic waste recycling facilities in southern China. The scientists exposed zebrafish — commonly used in initial toxicity tests — to the chemicals and found that they caused metabolic dysfunction and showed the potential for development harm.

“Our study suggests polymers can act as a trojan horse for toxic chemicals,” Da Chen, senior author and scientist at Jinan University in China. “They are added to products as inert large molecules, but over time they can degrade, exposing us to their harmful breakdown products.”

In recent years, polymeric flame retardants have been used to replace smaller, toxic molecules, such as chemicals called HBCD and PBDE, which have been partially phased out due to safety concerns.

Most polymers, including all such flame retardants, are considered exempt from major regulations meant to protect humans. But the new research shows regulation is needed, said Arlene Blum, co-author of the study and a research associate at the University of California, Berkeley. Blum also serves as executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute.

January 19, 2023

Updated approach to regulating chemicals is “urgently needed,” say scientists

By Grace van Deelen

The US regulatory system for chemicals is not adequately protecting human health, and an overhaul is urgently needed, according to recommendations made this week by a group of environmental and health scientists.

In a paper published Thursday in Environmental Science and Technology, the group of 12 researchers criticized the nation’s chemical regulatory system for operating in ways that allow farmers, consumers and others to be exposed to unsafe chemicals on a regular basis.

Adoption of a new, “essential-use” approach is required, the researchers said. The framework proposed asks governments and businesses to assess chemicals using one of three possible questions: 1) “Is the function of the chemical necessary for the product?” 2) “Is the use of the chemical the safest feasible option?” and 3) “Is use of the chemical in the product justified because such use is necessary for health, safety, or the functioning of society?”

Current laws and practices employed by the US Environmental Protection Agency essentially require that a chemical must be proven unsafe to be barred from the market. The proposed system would flip that on its head, similar to the theory of the “precautionary principle,” which considers that a product should be proven safe to be approved.

“The current system of managing chemicals is broken,” said Carol Kwiatkowski, an author of the paper and a senior scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute, an environmental health advocacy group. “The essential-use approach is the first feasible solution that will actually protect people and the environment before extensive damage is done.”

Co-authors include researchers from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), the University of Massachusetts, the University of Toronto, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Working Group.

More than 350 000 chemicals and mixtures of chemicals have been registered for production and use, according to a global review published in 2020. Environmental health advocates say not enough is known about the possible adverse effects these chemicals are having on the environment and human health. Many are clearly dangerous for humans exposed to them, including certain types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Some chemicals on the market in the US have been shown to disrupt hormones and impact reproductive health, cause cancers and other diseases and interfere with neurological development, among other harms.