PBDE Checklist

• Widespread in the estuary, both geographically and in the food chain
• Released through use and disposal of fire-retardant consumer goods
• Bioaccumulative
• Similar to PCBs in chemical structure and sublethal effects, such as neurotoxicity and hormone disruption

What Are They?

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are synthetic flame retardants used in plastics, cushions, and fabrics. Chemically, PBDEs are similar to PCBs. PBDEs come in 209 different forms, or congeners, which are combined in three commercial flame retardant products:

• Penta-BDE—Present in insulation and in foam for furniture, mattresses, and automobile seats; more toxic than the octa and deca mixtures.
• Octa-BDE—Present in high-impact plastic products, including computer housings, kitchen appliance casings, and telephone handsets.
• Deca-BDE—Most commonly used mixture. Present in carpets, drapes, non-clothing fabrics, and the plastic found in televisions, computers, stereos, and other electronics; less toxic than penta or octa mixtures, but may break down in the environment into more toxic and bioaccumulative forms.

PBDEs are persistent, toxic, and do not dissolve readily in water. Instead, they tend to accumulate in soil, sediment, household dust, and sewage. They have been detected in fish, wildlife, and people.

Production of penta- and octa-BDEs was phased out in North America and Europe by 2004, but deca is still widely used. In 2007, Washington passed legislation to ban the use of deca in mattresses, televisions, computers, and residential upholstered furniture by 2011, as long as suitable alternatives can be found.

PBDEs in the Estuary

PBDEs have been found in river water samples, on suspended sediment, and in the tissue and stomach contents of juvenile salmon from sites throughout the Columbia River estuary, from just below Bonneville Dam to the river’s mouth near Astoria (Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership 2007).

Impacts in the Environment

PBDEs are considered emerging contaminants, and additional scientific information is needed about their effects and their presence in the environment. Their effects on juvenile salmon are believed to be similar to those of PCBs and DDT, ranging from neurotoxicity to hormone disruption.

There is little information about the threshold level for health effects of PBDEs on juvenile salmon. Concentrations in samples in the lower Willamette River are high compared to other parts of the Pacific Northwest and higher than in some resident fish in the region (Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership 2007).

Sources of Exposure

Penta- and octa-BDEs are released to the environment (primarily the air) during the disposal of older consumer products at recycling facilities, landfills, and solid waste incinerators. Deca, which is still being manufactured, has been found in house dust and in biosolids at sewage treatment plants. During recent decades, PBDEs in the environment have increased exponentially.

In the Columbia River estuary, juvenile salmon are exposed to PBDEs through prey, suspended sediment, and river water (Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership 2007).

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ⁱ Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership. 2007. Lower Columbia River and Estuary Ecosystem Monitoring: Water Quality and Salmon Sampling Report.

ⁱⁱ Ibid.

ⁱⁱⁱ Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Environmental Public Health. 2008. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Flame Retardants: Biennial Report to the Oregon Legislature. Draft document. February 2008.

^ivIbid.

^v Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership. 2007. Lower Columbia River and Estuary Ecosystem Monitoring: Water Quality and Salmon Sampling Report.