Brominated flame retardants: analytical, toxicological and environmental aspects

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs), such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP-A), have routinely been added to consumer products for several decades in a successful effort to reduce fire-related injury and property damage. Recently. concern for this emerging class of chemicals has risen because of their occurrence in the environment and in human biota. Here we briefly review scientific issues related to analytical, toxicological and environmental aspects of these BFRs and discuss data gaps