Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(2), 478-491; doi:10.3390/ijerph6020478
Review

Environmental Impact of Flame Retardants (Persistence and Biodegradability)

Osnat Segev 1 email, Ariel Kushmaro 2,* email and Asher Brenner 1 email
1 Unit of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.Box 653, Be’er-Sheva, 84105, Israel 2 Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.Box 653, Be’er-Sheva, 84105, Israel
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 22 January 2009 / Accepted: 3 February 2009 / Published: 5 February 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodegradability and Environmental Sciences)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [299 KB, uploaded 5 February 2009 13:38 CET]
Abstract: Flame-retardants (FR) are a group of anthropogenic environmental contaminants used at relatively high concentrations in many applications. Currently, the largest market group of FRs is the brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Many of the BFRs are considered toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative. Bioremediation of contaminated water, soil and sediments is a possible solution for the problem. However, the main problem with this approach is the lack of knowledge concerning appropriate microorganisms, biochemical pathways and operational conditions facilitating degradation of these chemicals at an acceptable rate. This paper reviews and discusses current knowledge and recent developments related to the environmental fate and impact of FRs in natural systems and in engineered treatment processes.
Keywords: Biodegradation; Bioremediation; Brominated flame retardants; Dehalogenation; Flame retardants; Persistence

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Segev, O.; Kushmaro, A.; Brenner, A. Environmental Impact of Flame Retardants (Persistence and Biodegradability). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 478-491.

AMA Style

Segev O, Kushmaro A, Brenner A. Environmental Impact of Flame Retardants (Persistence and Biodegradability). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2009; 6(2):478-491.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Segev, Osnat; Kushmaro, Ariel; Brenner, Asher. 2009. "Environmental Impact of Flame Retardants (Persistence and Biodegradability)." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 6, no. 2: 478-491.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health EISSN 1660-4601 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert