A LOCAL toxics watchdog on Sunday raised concern over the detection of bromine in some black plastic cutlery and kitchen utensils being sold in Metro Manila.
According to the group EcoWaste Coalition, the items may contain bromine, a component of toxic brominated flame retardant (BFR) chemicals linked to a number of adverse health effects such as interference with the body’s normal hormone functions, a test buy conducted by the group revealed.
In test buys conducted from February 19 to 21, the EcoWaste Coalition collected 45 assorted cutlery and kitchen utensils sold in retail stores in Caloocan, Manila and Quezon Cities. Items made of black plastic were chosen as other studies have found BFRs in such products.
Among the items purchased and checked for bromine content using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer were black plastic ladles, skimmers, spaghetti servers, spatulas, turners, spoons and others.
Based on the XRF screening results, samples of big and small reusable black plastic spoons had 27,170 and 2,225 parts per million (ppm) of bromine, respectively, while a small soup ladle had 1,758 ppm. A disposable black plastic spoon contained 139 ppm of bromine.
Also, 10 black plastic kitchen utensils were found to contain 119 to 864 ppm of bromine, including a slotted turner (with 864 ppm), ladle (482 ppm), and a soup ladle (236 ppm).
In most cases, bromine was detected along with antimony (a component of antimony trioxide which is a common flame retardant synergist) as well as lead (a heavy metal additive or a contaminant).
“The detection of bromine in some cutlery and kitchen utensils being sold locally is a red flag,” Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition said in a statement.
“The recycling of toxic flame retardants into consumer products raises an alarm that should be translated into control actions in the Philippines and worldwide, including defining thresholds for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) waste (or the so-called low POPs content levels or LPCLs) and strategies for the circular economy, including the crucial interface of chemicals-products-wastes legislation,” Jitka Strakova, Global Researcher, International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) said for her part.
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