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Brominated Chemicals: Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA; Chemical Abstract Service [CAS] No. 79-94-7).

TBBPA is the most produced chemical by volume in the brominated flame-retardant class. TBBPA production is rapidly declining: only one manufacturer continues to make it in the U.S. – Albemarle’s plant with capacity to produce 50,000-metric-tons per year, in Magnolia, Arkansas. U.S. companies also import TBBPA from Israel, Jordan, and China. Imports fell 70% between 2009 and 2018. Most TBBPA enters commerce in laminate (comprising flame-resistant epoxy resins) of electronic circuit boards. It’s also used in electronic enclosures that are composed of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resins. 

Much of the electronics industry has committed to end the use of BFRs, including TBBPA, in plastics. Legacy TBBPA is re-distributed through plastics and e-waste recycling. It has been identified in products such as children’s musical toys, kitchen utensils, and Mardi Gras beads.

Photo 1 by Ecology Center. Photo 2 by Flickr User Samuel Mann.

 Brominated Chemicals: Ethylene dibromide (EDB; CAS No. 106-93-4).

In popular thought, certain toxic chemicals are no longer for sale, like asbestos and mercury. In reality, these well-known toxic substances remain in commerce. For example, some engines (mainly in aviation and racing cars) still run on leaded gas. Ethylene dibromide is used as an anti-knock agent in leaded gasoline. Petrochemical companies continue to import EDB for this purpose. The full extent is not known because EPA has withheld manufacturing and imports data for this chemical since 2006. Shipping records indicate a robust trade: U.S. companies imported over 3.7 million pounds of EDB between January 2012 and September 2019. The main importers are Ethyl Corp., Innospec, and Lanxess. Ethyl and Innospec sell tetraethyl lead gasoline additives. Lanxess sells EDB for use as a scavenger for lead in gasoline, and as a general solvent and fumigant. ExxonMobil’s petrochemicals complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the second leading source of airborne releases of EDB (6,041 pounds) between 2012 and 2018. This refinery makes aviation fuels that it distributes throughout the Western Hemisphere. Ethylene dibromide is converted to lead bromide during combustion, volatilizes, and is released as solid lead bromide in the particulate matter from cooled exhaust. Concentrations of lead bromide particulate emitted from airplane exhaust are highest near airports (especially small ones that service general aviation), but planes with piston engines spread lead far and wide throughout their flights.

Stock photo.

 
Chlorinated Chemicals: 1,1-Dichloroethane (1,1-DCA; CAS No. 75-34-3).

One of the only intentional uses of 1,1-DCA is in producing methyl chloroform. Methyl chloroform contributes to the depletion of the protective ozone layer in Earth’s stratosphere. Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, it was phased out from use as a solvent. However, the parties to this global agreement opened a loophole which allows manufacturing to continue if the methyl chloroform is used as a process chemical. At least one company – Westlake — continues to make and sell methyl chloroform for use in the “production of fluorinated chemical compounds, including refrigerants and polymers.” Degradation of 1,1-DCA in the air creates additional ozone-depleting substances. Two chemical plants in Louisiana reported 78% of air releases of 1,1-DCA from 2012 to 2018. Both plants – Westlake in Lake Charles and Olin in Plaquemine – produce methyl chloroform. 

Graphic from An Exposure and Risk Assessment for Dichloroethanes, U.S. EPA, 1982.

Sunrise over American Environmental Services in Calvert City, Kentucky, which received over 97% of 1,1-DCA waste destined for landfills between 2012 and 2018. Landfilled 1,1-DCA is released into the air where it is transformed into other toxic byproducts including ozone depleting substances. Photo by Jim Vallette/Material Research, July 25, 2019.

Chlorinated Chemicals: o-Dichlorobenzene (o-DCB, CAS No. 95-50-1).

Sabic’s plant in Mount Vernon, Indiana (left), produces a chemical called ODPA by processing o-DCB. This facility, owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, was responsible for 80% of the country’s reported air emissions of o-DCB. Sabic also reported releasing 67% of the country’s o-DCB wastewater into the Ohio River (right). EPA’s information about o-DCB does not yet mention it role in the production of ODPA or epoxies. The second leading source o-DCB releases, Covestro, in Baytown, Texas, processes o-DCB in the manufacturing of isocyanates. The EPA’s TSCA review of this chemical does not mention isocyanates. o-DCB also is processed in the production of some rubber products, pigments, and pesticides. Sabic plant and Ohio River in Mount Vernon, Indiana. 

Photos by Jim Vallette/Material Research.

 Chlorinated Substances: Ethylene Dichloride (EDC; also called 1,2-dichloroethane; CAS no. 107-06-2).

EDC is mainly processed to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. EDC is one of the highest volume chemicals in the U.S., especially on the Gulf Coast, where four of the eight largest PVC plants in the world are located. EDC manufacturing generates a suite of other toxic chemicals which are dispersed into the air, groundwater, and nearby rivers and estuaries. People suffer cumulative impacts from chronic inhalation and ingestion of organochlorine pollutants. Westlake Chemical owns three of the top four sources of EDC air pollution in the United States. These are in Calvert City, Ky., and Geismar and Westlake (Lake Charles), La. The chemical industry creates over 2.5 million pounds of toxic EDC waste per year, most of which is burned in incinerators and cement kilns. EPA has not considered the potential release of toxic byproducts, such as dioxins, from burning chlorinated toxic waste in its TSCA assessments. Three factories – Occidental in La Porte, Texas, and Formosa Plastics in Baton Rouge, La., and Point Comfort, Tex. – were responsible for over half of the country’s shipments of EDC waste to other communities. Westlake Chemical Corporation in Calvert City, Kentucky, the nation’s largest source of EDC air and water pollution between 2012 and 2018. 

 

Photo by Jim Vallette / Material Research.

Phthalates: Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP, CAS No. 84-61-7).

Phalates: Di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP, CAS No. 84-69-5).

 Phthalates: Dibutyl phthalate (DBP, CAS No. 84-74-2).

As with DiBP, DBP manufacturing is in rapid decline, in the U.S. Unlike DiBP, demand for DBP appears to remain strong. Companies import over 7 million pounds per year. A leading use of this chemical is as a propellant for ammunition. The leading source of reported DBP air releases in the U.S. is an Army ammunition plant in Iowa. Other high releases of DBP originate from marine-related shops, and are likely caused by the use of DBP in marine faring compounds. Faring compounds are epoxy-based putties that fill and smooth the shape of hulls. Other industries that process and release DBP include manufacturers of maleic anhydride, adhesives, sealants, plastics, coatings, catalysts, and heat pump fluids. The Nordic Ecolabel prohibits the use of DBP in heat pump fluids. DBP is a common contaminant in plastic waste and around recycling plants. This cement kiln in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, burns toxic waste, including dibutyl phthalate, as “alternative fuel.” 

 

Photo by Jim Vallette / Material Research.

Phthalates: Di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP, CAS No. 117-81-7).

DEHP is the most commonly distributed phthalate. Two companies in the U.S. manufacture this plasticizer: Eastman Chemical (Kingsport, Tennessee) and Teknor Apex (Brownsville, Tennessee), and both release the chemical into the air. U.S. companies also imported over 14 million pounds between 2012 and 2019. The auto industry is the leading industrial source of DEHP air pollution, led by Honda’s plant in Lincoln, Alabama, which released 29% of the country’s DEHP into air between 2014 and 2018. Imported PVC products are more likely to contain DEHP than domestically produced plastics. Products that contain DEHP include rubber coated textiles, hydraulics, plastic films, vinyl flooring, and, perhaps most notably, medical supplies. The use of DEHP in blood bags, catheters, and oxygen masks is most impactful on the most vulnerable people: newborn infants in intensive care. The medical supply industry is an active distributor and user of DEHP products. Manufacturing takes place primarily at Baxter Healthcare plants in Puerto Rico and Mississippi. Baxter Healthcare and ICU Medical Fleet Services are the leading sources of DEHP waste. From 2012 to 2018, these companies transferred over 10 million pounds of DEHP waste to plastics recycling plants in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. 

Image: This product, made in China and sold at Hobby Lobby in 2015, contained 33% DEHP, the highest concentration of any product yet tested by the State of Washington Department of Ecology.

Organophosphorus flame retardants: Triphenyl phosphate (TPP, CAS No. 115-86-6).

There is only one company in the U.S. that produces TPP. ICL-IP Americas LP’s plant in Gallipolis, West Virginia, makes a flame-retardant plasticizer that contains TPP. Other companies import TPP for similar purposes. Lanxess and Akzo Nobel import it from their operations overseas. TPP is added to plastic, foam, rubber, and lubricant products. A State of Washington product testing program found concentrations of over 1% TPP in the foam of children’s chairs sold by Amazon and Target. In 2014, a research team from the University of Antwerp found that plastics recycling has introduced “harmful organic chemicals in children’s toys. TPP was “a major representative” of these contaminants, with levels of up to 1.3% by weight detected in toys. The foam in the chair at left, sold by Amazon in 2013, contained TPP at a concentration of over 3.5%. 

State of Washington Department of Ecology Photo.

 Organophosphorus flame retardants: Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP, CAS No. 115-96-8).

There’s been a sharp decline in the use of TCEP as a flame retardant. All recent volume appears to have been imported, not domestically manufactured. Few shipments of TCEP have arrived in the U.S. since 2015, as retailers, processors, product specifiers, and governments have implemented policies that dissuade TCEP distribution. Most common uses are in paints, mastics, coatings, pharmaceuticals, and polyurethane foam. It is also found unintentionally in carpet padding that uses recycled furniture foam. There are no government databases that track TCEP or TPP discharges into the air or water or transfers of toxic waste containing it. Testing by the State of Washington found TCEP at concentrations as high as 1.3% in the cover of a children’s chair made in China. 

Photo by State of Washington Department of Ecology.

 Other Chemicals: 1,3-Butadiene (CAS No. 106-99-0).

A variety of synthetic rubbers use 1,3-butadiene, with the majority being used in styrene butadiene rubber. Other common varieties include chloroprene, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, and polybutadiene rubber. Some of this rubber winds up inside peoples’ homes, in rubber flooring and carpet as well as in playgrounds, in recycled rubber “mulch.” Synthetic rubber workers have been affected by high rates of leukemia. The industry is characterized by accidents and “upset conditions” that release unpermitted 1,3-butadiene into the air. “Nearly 180 million Americans live in the worst-case scenario zones for a chemical disaster, and at least one in three children go to a school near a hazardous chemical facility,” notes Earthjustice. Other major manufacturers, such as Ineos in Alvin, Texas; Firestone in Sulphur, Louisiana; Shell in Norco, Louisiana; American Synthetic Rubber in Louisville, Kentucky, frequently release unapproved emissions of 1,3-butadiene. In Norco, alone, since 2015, Shell reported 32 separate, accidental releases of 1,3-butadiene. One of the largest 1,3-butadiene plants, identified in our technical report, is Texas Petroleum Chemicals (TCP) in Port Neches, Texas. The plant has a long history of accidents and was recently acquired by Indorama Ventures of Thailand. The same week that Earthjustice submitted these 20 reports, the Trump-governed EPA overturned the Chemical Disaster Rule. The following week, on Nov. 27, 2019, two chemical explosions rocked the TPC plant and caused widespread evacuations from Port Neches to Port Arthur, Texas. U.S. 

Chemical Safety Board photo.

Other Chemicals: 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyran (HHCB, CAS No. 1222-05-5).

The fragrance industry is notoriously opaque, and EPA is not using its power to provide transparency for the public. In an August 2019 report, EPA asserted that, “due to Confidential Business Information, EPA cannot disclose whether HHCB was manufactured in the United States.” Millions of pounds of HHCB shipments enter U.S. commerce each year. EPA does not track its release into air, water, or into the waste stream. This chemical is not regulated by the FDA. The public – consumers, neighbors of manufacturing plants – have little to no information about, or protection from, this widely distributed musk fragrance. Scientists from Harvard and Silent Spring Institute recently found HHCB is every air and dust wipe sample taken from ten low-income housing units. Consumers are exposed to it through the use of cleaning products, deodorants, and shampoo. It has also been incorporated into products like jeans for scent-branding. The scent branding industry, like its fragrance suppliers, considers its blends to be trade secrets. When a sports arena opened in Brooklyn, reporters and fans remarked about the “weird, musky, cologne-y” smell during Nets basketball games. The source: cartridges that discharged scents into the arena’s HVAC system.

Licensed stock image.