Projekt FLARE nRolle von Flammschutzmitteln als endokrin aktive Substanzen in der Umwelt (NFP50: Hormonaktive Stoffe: Bedeutung für Menschen, Tiere und Ökosysteme) Partner nSAFE (Patricia Holm) nPHEBRO (Walter Giger und Hans Peter Kohler) Umsetzung nZeithorizont: Frühjahr 2003 nFinden von Hotspots (Projekte SAFE / Fischnetz) èendokrine Aktivität des Flusswassers (YEAST) èerhöhte Vitellogenin Levels Bachforellen nAnalyse von Leber/Galle von Bachforellen nIdentifizierung von Metaboliten von bromierten Flammschutzmitteln

FLARE FLARE Brominated flame retardants and their transformation products: Occurrence in the environment and human exposure to these endocrine active components Andreas Gerecke, Peter Schmid, Martin Kohler, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), 8600 Dübendorf

Brominated Flame Retardants Technical Properties nBFR are additives for plastics and textiles (%-range!) nBFR inhibit / suppress combustion nBFR are now the second most used additive for plastics nAnnual production over 150,000 tons, demand increasing Environmental Impact - Is the PCB disaster being repeated? nSome BFR and their metabolites are endocrine disruptors nSome BFR are proven to be persistent organic pollutants (POPs) nBFR in human milk rose from < 1 ng/g lipid to 200 ng/g lipid (USA)

Brominated Flame Retardants Hexabromocyclododecane nPolystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene nLittle is known on fate and toxicity Polybrominated Diphenylethers nPlastics and textiles - persistent organic pollutants nPentaBDE to be banned, DecaBDE as alternative? Tetrabromobisphenol A nElectronic circuit boards - covalently bound nSimilar structure to bisphenol A and T 3 /T 4

Known Effects of Brominated Flame Retardants nEndocrine disrupting effects found for TBBPA, PBDE and metabolites nPBDE & metabolites are ER alpha and ER beta receptor agonists nPBDE & TBBPA: competition with thyroxine T 3 /T 4 nImmunotoxic effects (reduced production of IgG by BDE-47) nDevelopmental toxicity (behavior aberration in mice by BDE-99) nMost data available for mammals & assays / little known about fish Endocrine Disrupting Effects Transformation products of BDE-199 mimicking T 3 /T 4

Goals nInvestigate environmental levels and transformation products of brominated flame retardants in the aquatic environment Implementation of an effect driven approach - analysing fish & environment where effects of ED are found Task I nDevelopment of analytical methods for BFR & transformation products Task II nCollecting and analysing relevant samples for the target compounds and for transformation products Task III nCorrelation to effects and implementation of the results Goals and Tasks

SAFE nEndocrine disruption in Switzerland: Assessment of fish exposure and effects (SAFE): Patricia Holm, Helmut Segner, Armin Peter PHEBRO nPhenolic and brominated contaminants in wastewater and in the aquatic environment (PHEBRO): Walter Giger, Hans-Peter Kohler Aquanet & various Institutions nEAWAG, BAG, BUWAL, FAW Related Activities at EMPA nDioxins, coplanar PCB and BFR in various matrices: Markus Zennegg nBrominated flame retardants (BFR) - Transfer from Building Materials and Textiles to Indoor Air and Human Exposure Assessment Partners

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