State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
J Environ Manage. 2013 Jan 30;115:114-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.09.031. Epub 2012 Dec 13.
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants (BFRs), are incorporated in plastics of most electronic equipment. Among BFR mixtures, deca-BDE is the most widely used commercial additive in the polymer industry and the use of deca-BDE is currently not subject to any restrictions in China. However, debate over environmental and health risks associated with deca-BDE still remains. Regulatory agencies in developed countries have adopted and/or established environmentally sound strategies for the management of potential threat posed by PBDEs to the environment and human health. No regulations or management policies for PBDEs currently exist in China at either central or provincial government levels. Large amounts of plastics containing PBDEs are still in use and must be disposed of after their lifetimes, creating outdoor reservoirs for the future dispersal of PBDEs into the environment. Concerted action is needed not only to regulate the production and use of PBDEs but also to find ways to effectively manage waste electrical and electronic products that contain PBDEs. This article is the first to investigate the policy issues and current problems related to the use of PBDEs in China. In addition, we estimate the mass flows of PBDEs contained in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in China. We suggest alternatives to PBDEs and sound management of plastics used in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that contain PBDEs.
多溴二苯醚（PBDEs）作为阻燃剂（BFRs）被添加到大多数电子设备的塑料中。在 BFR 混合物中，十溴二苯醚是聚合物工业中使用最广泛的商业添加剂，目前在中国，十溴二苯醚的使用不受任何限制。然而，与十溴二苯醚相关的环境和健康风险仍存在争议。发达国家的监管机构已经采取并/或制定了合理的策略来管理 PBDEs 对环境和人类健康构成的潜在威胁。目前，中国中央和省级政府层面都没有针对 PBDEs 的法规或管理政策。大量含有 PBDEs 的塑料仍在使用，在使用寿命结束后必须进行处理，这为 PBDEs 未来向环境中扩散创造了室外储存库。不仅需要采取协调行动来规范 PBDEs 的生产和使用，还需要寻找有效管理含有 PBDEs 的废弃电子电气产品的方法。本文首次探讨了与中国 PBDEs 使用相关的政策问题和当前问题。此外，我们还估算了中国废弃电气电子设备（WEEE）中所含 PBDEs 的质量流。我们提出了替代 PBDEs 的方法，并对含有 PBDEs 的电子电气设备（EEE）中的塑料进行了合理管理。
