Electrical and electronic equipment: end-of-life, safety, and regulatory issues for plastics containing brominated flame retardants

The technological advances of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) have had a great impact on our lives. Various brominated flame retardants have been used for many years in EEE. They provide an efficient and a viable method of achieving requiring flammability standards with given plastics. With its growth, the environmental effects of materials used in this market has to be addressed. End-of-life issues, such as reuse-reduce-recycle; fire safety; and compliance with regulatory matters are all of major concern. This paper has addressed issues related to benefits, risk in use, and end-of-life options for plastics containing brominated flame retardants. Results of recent research aimed at determining the recyclability of plastics containing brominated flame retardants under a variety of conditions. The conclusions of these evaluations show the benefits in terms of fire safety and the value of various end-of-life options for EEE containing brominated flame retardant resins.