Australia to tighten controls on common, toxic flame retardant

Australia is moving to tighten controls on a toxic flame retardant used in dozens of consumer goods, including plastic baby capsules, building insulation, electrical cabling, blinds, car upholstery and mattresses.

But the United Nations has already called for a global ban on hexabromocyclododecane - commonly known as HBCD - labelling it among ''the world's most dangerous toxic chemicals.''

Australia's chemical regulator, the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme, has baulked at a ban and suggested a voluntary phase-out of the chemical over a five period.

In a 320-page draft assessment of the flame retardant, it has recommended HBCD be classified as a hazardous substance posing ''possible risk of harm to the unborn child'' and a potential breastmilk contaminant.

The flame retardant, which is widely used in the upholstery and building industries, is currently not listed by Safe Work Australia as hazardous substance requiring safety instructions or protective clothing. According to the draft report posted on the chemical regulator's website, there are currently ''no restrictions on the manufacture, import and use'' of HBCD in Australia.

This is despite concerns being raised about the chemical compound's toxicity for well over a decade by scientists in Europe, Canada, Japan, Scandinavia and the United States. Two months ago, a UN conference in Switzerland accepted a proposal by Norway to list HBCD under the Stockholm Convention as a persistent environmental pollutant. Australia is a signatory to the convention,which has banned more than 20 chemicals that pose a high risk to human health and the environment.

The European Union has listed HBCD as one of six chemicals of ''very high concern... that will be banned within the next three to five years.''

The US Environment Protection Authority is also overhauling regulations, after tests linked HBCD to ''potential reproduction, development and neurological effects''.

Scientific studies in Europe and the US have shown HBCD builds up, or bioaccumulates, in soils and water, and is toxic to fish, marine mammals and birds.

The flame retardant has been detected in blubber samples from dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions, as well as in the eggs of birds of prey and seabirds. It has been linked to hormone disruption in wildlife, reproductive risks and thyroid disorders.

According to the regulator's draft report, more than 550kg of HBCD a year is disposed to landfill, and more than 1000kg a year is released to water through industrial wastewater discharge.

The compound is not manufactured in Australia, but is imported as powder, polystyrene resin, liquid or as a component of the plastic in finished articles. More than 50 tonnes was imported in 2009-10.

The draft report recommends industries using HBCD ''should voluntarily phase out the import and use'' of the chemical and any products that contain it.