Leaching of FRs from recycled ABS plastic in birds’ digestive fluids
Recycled ABS was obtained from a plastic producer in China. Levels of individual FRs analysed in the ABS were highest for BTBPE at 1.8 mg/kg, with DecaBDE (BDE 209), several other brominated FRs and TPHP and EHDPP also around 1 mg/kg. Results showed that lipophilic FRs had a higher tendency to migrate out of the plastic, in particular BDEs, BTBPE and DBDPE. This could be related to affinity to bile salts and enzymes in birds’ digestive fluids.
“The leaching of additive-derived flame retardants (FRs) from plastics in avian digestive fluids: The significant risk of highly lipophilic FRs”, H. Guo et al., J. Env. Sciences 85 (2049) 200-207 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2019.06.013