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Q16 (IAS/2014) Environment & Ecology › Pollution & Conservation › Hazardous chemical pollutants Official Key

Brominated flame retardants are used in many household products like mattresses and upholstery. Why is there some concern about their use? 1. They are highly resistant to degradation in the environment. 2. They are able to accumulate in humans and animals. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Result
Your answer: —  Âˇ  Correct: C
Explanation

The correct answer is option C (Both 1 and 2).

PBBs (polybrominated biphenyls, a type of brominated flame retardant) are persistent in the environment[1], and biodegradation in water, sediment and soil is not likely to occur easily[1]. This confirms that statement 1 is correct—these compounds are highly resistant to degradation.

There is evidence of their presence in the environment and in humans[2], which confirms that statement 2 is also correct—brominated flame retardants accumulate in humans and animals. Many of these substances of greatest concern are organic compounds characterised by persistence in the environment, resistance to degradation, and acute and chronic toxicity[3].

Both characteristics—environmental persistence and bioaccumulation—make brominated flame retardants a matter of significant concern for public health and environmental safety, despite their important role in fire prevention.

Sources
  1. [1] https://one.oecd.org/document/OCDE/GD(94)96/en/pdf
  2. [2] https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/752652/files/UNEP-POPS-NPOPS-EVAL-RMEs-2005-2008-En.pdf
  3. [3] https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/487281/files/europe-report.pdf
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Q. Brominated flame retardants are used in many household products like mattresses and upholstery. Why is there some concern about their use…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 ¡ 10/10
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This question masquerades as a specific chemistry query but is actually testing the definition of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). In 2014, BFRs were a hot topic under the Stockholm Convention. If a chemical is a 'global concern', it almost invariably satisfies the PBT criteria: Persistence, Bioaccumulation, and Toxicity.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Are brominated flame retardants highly resistant to degradation and therefore persistent in the environment?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Biodegradation in water, sediment and soil is not likely to occur easily. It is considered that PBBs and PBDPOs are persistent in the environment,"
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states biodegradation in water, sediment and soil is not likely to occur easily for brominated flame retardants.
  • Specifically notes certain brominated flame retardant groups (PBBs and PBDPOs) are considered persistent in the environment.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"Many of the substances of greatest concern are organic compounds characterised by persistence in the environment, resistance to degradation, and acute and chronic toxicity."
Why this source?
  • Describes persistent toxic substances as organic compounds characterised by persistence and resistance to degradation.
  • Places such persistent, resistant compounds among the substances of greatest concern, consistent with concern about long environmental lifetimes.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 28: International Organisation and Conventions > POPs > p. 405
Strength: 5/5
“SHANKAR Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic chemical substances, that is, they are carbon-based. They possess a particular combination of physical and chemical properties such that, once released into the environment, they: • remain intact for exceptionally long periods of time (many years); • become widely distributed throughout the environment as a result of natural processes involving soil, water and, most notably, air, long range environment transport (LRET). • accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms including humans, and are found at higher concentrations at higher levels in the food chain; and • are foxic to both humans and wildlife In addition, POPs concentrate in living organisms through another process called bioaccumulation.”
Why relevant

Defines Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) as chemicals that 'remain intact for exceptionally long periods' and 'accumulate in fatty tissue', giving a direct pattern for what 'persistent' means for organic, often halogenated, pollutants.

How to extend

A student could note that many brominated organics are organic chemicals and compare their properties to POPs (e.g., long environmental lifetimes and bioaccumulation) to judge plausibility.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 5: Environmental Pollution > 5.12.2. Plastics as a Waste Material in Land Environment > p. 97
Strength: 4/5
“5.12.2. Plastics as a Waste Material- in Land Environment Problems with the uncollected plastic waste, include • (i) Choking of drains by plastic carry bags which may lead to unhygienic environment and water borne diseases, • (ii) Causing of illness and possible death of animals that may feed on plastics from garbage bins, • (iii) Non-biodegradable and impervious nature of plastics disposed on soil which may arrest recharge of ground water aquifers, • (iv) presence of additives and plasticizers, fillers, flame retardants and pigments used in the plastic”
Why relevant

Lists flame retardants as additives in plastics and notes plastics/additives are non-biodegradable and persist in soil, indicating flame retardants can be associated with persistent materials.

How to extend

One could infer that if flame retardants are embedded in non-biodegradable plastics, they may also persist or be released over long timescales into the environment.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 5: Environmental Pollution > Disadvantages of bioremediation > p. 101
Strength: 4/5
“• Bioremediation is limited to those compounds that are biodegradable. Not all compounds are susceptible to rapid and complete degradation. • Biological processes are often highly specific. • It is difficult to extrapolate from bench and pilot_ scale studies to full-scale field operations. • Bioremediation often takes longer time than other treatment process.”
Why relevant

States bioremediation is limited to biodegradable compounds and 'not all compounds are susceptible to rapid and complete degradation', highlighting that some man-made chemicals resist biological breakdown.

How to extend

A student could apply this general rule to brominated organics—asking whether they are biodegradable; if not, that supports potential persistence.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 6: Environmental Degradation and Management > Duration of Marine Pollutants > p. 46
Strength: 4/5
“Pollutants vary in their persistence. On the basis of persistence the pollutants may be classifed in the following categories: • (i) Some reside in environment for thousands of years while others last only a few minutes.• (ii) Some pollutants break down into harmless substances spontaneously or through physical process (like the shattering of large molecules by sunlight).• (iii) Sometimes pollutants are removed from the environment through biological activity. For example, some marine organisms escape permanent damage by metabolising hazardous substances to harmless ones.• (iv) Te volatile components of any oil spill eventually evaporate into the air, leaving the heavier tars behind.”
Why relevant

Explains pollutants vary in persistence and that some break down by sunlight while others remain for very long times, providing criteria (photolytic, chemical, biological degradability) for assessing persistence.

How to extend

Using this checklist, a student could check whether brominated flame retardants are susceptible to photolysis, hydrolysis or biodegradation to infer likely persistence.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 6: Environmental Degradation and Management > ozone depletion > p. 12
Strength: 3/5
“Te compounds of CFC gases are nontoxic, non-fammable and chemically inert gases. Tese properties make them useful for a wide range of applications including refrigerants, foaming agents, plastic manufacturing, fre extinguishing agents, solvents for freezing food, cleaners for electronic components fne retardant, solvents, aerosol propellants, and the production of foamed plastics. CFCs is widely used because of its properties like non-corrosiveness, non-infammability, low toxicity and chemical stability. CFCs cannot be eliminated from the atmosphere by the usual scavenging processes like photodissociation, oxidation and rain out. Te residence time of CFCs in the atmosphere is estimated to be between 40 to 150 years.”
Why relevant

Describes CFCs as chemically stable with very long atmospheric residence times, giving an example pattern that halogenated compounds can be highly persistent due to chemical stability.

How to extend

A student could use the analogy that other halogen-containing organics (e.g., brominated compounds) may also be chemically stable and thus persistent, pending specific data.

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