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BFRs in Electronics & Electrical Devices

Electronics and electrical devices account for 50% of global brominated flame retardant (BFR) consumption. The dominant end uses of BFRs in electronics are in cabinets, housings and printed circuit boards—together they account for roughly 80%… …

GreenScreen Standard Introductory Course

This FREE GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals one-day introductory workshop will be held for the Washington State Department of Ecology and is open to the public.  Limited spots are available. This day-long training will be of particular… …

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Alternatives: Are FRs Necessary?

A critical approach to chemicals in products in general and plastics in particular is to ask: Is it necessary? For example, is a flame retardant in nap mats even necessary? Driven by government regulations and industry standards, manufacturers now… …

Four GreenScreen® Sessions at GreenBuild 2014

Dear Colleagues, I am looking forward to seeing many of you at GreenBuild, and want to invite you to join me at some interesting sessions (see below for dates and times).  Our team has launched the next cohort of the GreenScreen Practitioner… …

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Government policies drive, somewhat ironically, both the use and restriction of FRs. International, regional, national, state, and local fire safety regulations and flammability standards drive demand for FRs. At the same time the trend in government… …

Facts on Flame Retardants

Global consumption in 2012: 3.9 billion pounds (lbs). With consumption expected to increase to 5.2 billion lbs by 2018 for a compound annual growth rate of 5% for the next five years. (BCC Research) Government regulations, with a major push from FR… …

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Health Effects of Flame Retardants (FRs)

FRs and their adverse health effects are a seemingly ubiquitous topic in scientific journals. Today we provide a snapshot in the table below of the primary health effects of widely used flame retardants. This is a summary table of a few FRs. For… …

Strategies for Identifying Safer Alternatives to Plasticizers

The solution to hazardous plasticizers like DEHP is not necessarily another plasticizer. The figure to the left from the Plastics Scorecard identifies five solutions to the use of chemicals of concern in plastics. Companies, for example, are… …

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Solutions to Hazardous Plasticizers

The dominant movement in the marketplace is to alternative plasticizers to DEHP and other phthalates. Yet this is the less preferred solution to avoiding PVC and plasticizers altogether. Some recent assessments on alternative materials and… …

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UNEP Report: The Business Case for Knowing Chemicals in Products & Supply Chains

Key messages: Regulatory requirements, customer demands, media attention, non-governmental organization advocacy, product recalls, and market opportunities are driving companies to know more about the chemicals in their products and supply chains.… …