School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
Institute F.-A. Forel, University of Geneva, Boulevard Carl-Vogt 66, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 1;601-602:374-379. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.173. Epub 2017 May 29.
A range of plastic consumer products and components thereof have been analysed by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry in a low density mode for Br as a surrogate for brominated flame retardant (BFR) content. Bromine was detected in about 42% of 267 analyses performed on electronic (and electrical) samples and 18% of 789 analyses performed on non-electronic samples, with respective concentrations ranging from 1.8 to 171,000μgg and 2.6 to 28,500μgg. Amongst the electronic items, the highest concentrations of Br were encountered in relatively small appliances, many of which predated 2005 (e.g. a fan heater, boiler thermostat and smoke detector, and various rechargers, light bulb collars and printed circuit boards), and usually in association with Sb, a component of antimony oxide flame retardant synergists, and Pb, a heavy metal additive and contaminant. Amongst the non-electronic samples, Br concentrations were highest in items of jewellery, a coffee stirrer, a child's puzzle, a picture frame, and various clothes hangers, Christmas decorations and thermos cup lids, and were often associated with the presence of Sb and Pb. These observations, coupled with the presence of Br at concentrations below those required for flame-retardancy in a wider range of electronic and non-electronic items, are consistent with the widespread recycling of electronic plastic waste. That most Br-contaminated items were black suggests the current and recent demand for black plastics in particular is met, at least partially, through this route. Given many Br-contaminated items would evade the attention of the end-user and recycler, their disposal by conventional municipal means affords a course of BFR entry into the environment and, for food-contact items, a means of exposure to humans.
已经使用 X 射线荧光（XRF）光谱仪以低密度模式对一系列塑料消费品及其部件进行了分析，以溴作为溴化阻燃剂（BFR）含量的替代物。在对电子（和电气）样品进行的 267 次分析中，有 42%检测到溴，在对非电子样品进行的 789 次分析中，有 18%检测到溴，浓度范围分别为 1.8 至 171,000μg/g 和 2.6 至 28,500μg/g。在电子设备中，相对较小的设备中遇到的 Br 浓度最高，其中许多设备早于 2005 年（例如风扇加热器、锅炉恒温器和烟雾探测器，以及各种充电器、灯泡颈圈和印刷电路板），并且通常与 Sb 一起存在，Sb 是锑氧化物阻燃增效剂的组成部分，以及 Pb，一种重金属添加剂和污染物。在非电子样品中，Br 浓度最高的是珠宝、咖啡搅拌器、儿童拼图、相框、各种衣架、圣诞装饰品和保温杯盖，并且经常与 Sb 和 Pb 的存在有关。这些观察结果，加上在更广泛的电子和非电子物品中，Br 浓度低于阻燃所需浓度，表明电子塑料废物的广泛回收。大多数受 Br 污染的物品为黑色，这表明目前和最近对黑色塑料的需求至少部分通过这种途径得到满足。考虑到许多受 Br 污染的物品会避开最终用户和回收商的注意，它们通过传统的城市方式处理为 BFR 进入环境提供了途径，对于与食物接触的物品，这是人类接触的一种途径。
