Migration of hazardous contaminants from WEEE contaminated polymeric toy material by mouthing.

This study evaluated the migration of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), phosphate flame retardants (PFRs), bisphenols (BPA, BPF), and phthalate ester-based plasticizers from recycled polymeric toy material, containing waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), in artificial saliva simulating 1 h of mouthing. In total 12 parts of 9 different toys were tested in triplicate after confirming WEEE specific contamination. Up to 11 contaminants were detected in saliva from one toy sample.

Evaluation of Direct Analysis in Real Time - High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (DART-HRMS) for WEEE specific substance determination in polymeric samples.

There is an increased need for quick screening tools enabling the detection of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and in particular brominated flame retardants (BFRs), in polymeric materials. Unfortunately, common laboratory techniques might face matrix effects or encounter long sample preparation times. Therefore, an ambient desorption mass spectrometric technique such as Direct Analysis in Real Time - High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (DART-HRMS) might provide fast BFR identification in polymeric objects.

Towards a generic procedure for the detection of relevant contaminants from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) in plastic food-contact materials: a review and selection of key parameters.

Recently, traces of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have been detected in black plastic food-contact materials (FCMs), indicating the presence of recycled plastics, mainly coming from waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) as BFRs are one of the main additives in electric applications. In order to evaluate efficiently and preliminary in situ the presence of WEEE in plastic FCMs, a generic procedure for the evaluation of WEEE presence in plastic FCMs by using defined parameters having each an associated importance level has been proposed. This can be achieved by combining parameters like overall bromine (Br) and antimony (Sb) content; additive and reactive BFR, rare earth element (REE) and WEEE-relevant elemental content and additionally polymer purity.

Improving the accuracy of hand-held X-ray fluorescence spectrometers as a tool for monitoring brominated flame retardants in waste polymers.

An optimised method for Br quantification as a metric of brominated flame retardant (BFR) concentrations present in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) polymers is proposed as an alternative to the sophisticated, yet time consuming GC-MS methods currently preferred. A hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer was validated with Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Customized standard materials of specific BFRs in a styrenic polymer were used to perform an external calibration for hand-held XRF ranging from 0.

Evidence of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) relevant substances in polymeric food-contact articles sold on the European market.

In order to confirm the possibility that recycled fractions from the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) stream were illegally entering the European market in black polymeric food-contact articles (FCAs), bromine quantification, brominated flame retardant (BFR) identification combined with WEEE-relevant elemental analysis and polymer impurity analysis were performed. From the 10 selected FCAs, seven samples contained a bromine level ranging from 57 to 5975 mg kg(-)(1), which is lower than expected to achieve flame retardancy. The BFRs that were present were tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), decabromodiphenylether (decaBDE), decabromodiphenylethane (DBDPE) and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE).