New Analytical Methods Significantly Shorten Analysis Time of Brominated Flame Retardants

Brominated Flame Retardants PBDEs, PBBs, HBCD and TBBPA

Flame retardants aim at the reduction of the flammable qualities of materials, avoiding the development of flames or delaying the spreading of a fire. The most well-known types of brominated flame retardants are polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA).

Use, Occurrence in the Environment,
Accumulation Along Food-Chains and Regulations

Brominated flame retardants (BFR) are commonly added to a variety of consumer goods and everyday objects like insulation materials, computer housings, carpets (to name but a few).

Due to the intensive use of BFRs, they are present in the environment and likewise in biota, food and feed. Concern has also been raised by the persistence, the potential for bioaccumulation and toxicity of several chemical compounds from the group of BFRs. This has led to bans on the production and use of all technical mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as well as on the production and use of HBCD and PBBs within the EU.

In order to protect the public health, Article 2 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food stipulates that, where necessary, maximum tolerances for specific contaminants shall be established. Up to now, neither PBDEs, PBBs, HBCD nor TBBPA are regulated in food and feed.

Following the decision of the European Commission to monitor the presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in food, BFRs are under the focus of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

New and Improved Methods

The competence center for Dioxins & Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) within the Eurofins network of laboratories - Eurofins GfA Lab Service GmbH – has recently improved resp. developed its analytical methods covering different classes of BFRs.

The analytical procedure for HBCD and TBBPA includes now a dispersive solid phase extraction clean-up following the QuEChERS-approach. In addition to the new extraction and clean-up procedure also a new and more sensitive LC-MS/MS-measurement system is now under routine use.

Improvements made by GC-MS or GC-MS/MS for the analytical procedures of determining PBDEs and PBBs also have been implemented successfully.

Shortened TAT From 14 Days To 5 Days,
More Sensitive LOQs

As a consequence of the above described improvements, the extraction and clean-up procedures are shortened, which allows Eurofins GfA Lab Service GmbH to reduce significantly the turnaround time (TAT) for the most common matrices biota, water, soil and sediments from 14 days to 5 days.

As a result of the above described improvements, samples of biota, mussels and milk products can now be analyzed and reported with a lower limit of quantification (LOQ) for TBBPA, PBDEs and PBBs:
 

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