PBDEs are used in consumer goods to protect against fires. According to NOAA's report, An Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) in Sediments and Bivalves of the U.S. Coastal Zone, released April 1, 2009, New York’s Hudson Raritan Estuary recorded the highest level of flame retardants in sediments and shellfish in the whole study area. In addition to Hudson Raritan Estuary, NOAA found flame retardants in Southern California Bight, Puget Sound, the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Michigan near Chicago and Gary, Indiana.
PBDEs Impair Liver Function
In recent years, PBDEs have generated international concern due to their global distribution and associated adverse environmental and human health effects, the report said. Laboratory studies have found PBDEs may impair liver, thyroid and neurobehavioral development. Pregnant women, infants and developing babies are the ones at most risk to the flame retardants. To assess the potential threat, NOAA conducted a retrospective study of PBDEs in mussels and sediments.
“We do not know what the effects of PBDEs on mussels or oysters are. The organisms we use to monitor the health of the U.S. coast have a minimal ability to metabolize contaminants,” said Kimani Kimbrough, a NOAA scientist, in an interview April 22, 2009.
PBDEs Found Near Cities
The study determined flame retardants are found throughout the United States. The highest concentrations in sediment and mussels were found near industrial centers and correlated with human population. PBDEs also have been found in remote places far from major sources, providing evidence of atmospheric transport, the report said. A high concentration of contaminants in mussels increases the levels of contaminants in surrounding waters, Kimbrough said. Mussels’ ability to concentrate contaminants helps NOAA monitor the contamination, the scientist added.
Scientists are concerned about PBDEs because their chemical structure is similar to polychlorinated biphenyls, a carcinogen. PBDE has been banned in a number of European and Asian countries. In the United States, production of most PBDE mixtures has been voluntarily discontinued.
NOAA said the chemicals enter the environment through:
- Runoff
- Municipal waste incineration
- Sewage overflows
- Aging consumer products
- Land application of biosolids
- Industrial discharges
- Accidental spills
NOAA plans to continue to measure PBDEs in the environment and determine whether the numbers are increasing or decreasing, Kimbrough said. The Mussel Watch Program, is the nation’s longest running contaminant-monitoring program documenting environmental conditions of coastal waters, NOAA added.
Americans can reduce the concentrations of flame retardants in water by improving methods of waste disposal and improving ways of recycling consumer products, she said. Consumers also can reduce flame retardants through recycling more consumer products.
The agency has noticed an increase in flame retardants in coastal waters, but scientists still are trying to determine what effects that increase will have on humans. Its report, released through its Mussel Watch Program, explains the concentration levels in mussels and sediments. It will use this information to develop strategies to reduce PBDEs in the environment. Previously, NOAA issued a report on other contaminants found in mussels.
Louise Harris - Louise Harris has worked in the journalism field since she graduated in 1989 from the University of Maryland College of Journalism. She is ...
