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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Defines Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) as carbon‑based chemicals that remain long in the environment and 'accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms' and 'concentrate in living organisms through ... bioaccumulation.'

A student could note that if certain brominated flame retardants are classified or behave like POPs, they would be expected to accumulate in fats and biomagnify up food chains.

Lists 'flame retardants' as additives used in plastics and waste materials, tying flame retardants to persistent consumer products.

Knowing flame retardants are used in long‑lived plastics, a student could infer potential for environmental release and subsequent exposure of organisms to these brominated additives.

Gives a basic definition of bioaccumulation: increase in pollutant concentration from the environment to the first organism in a food chain.

A student can apply this rule to any persistent, fat‑soluble chemical (such as some flame retardants) to predict uptake by organisms and entry into food chains.

States that certain pesticides (organochlorines) 'accumulate in body fat and blood lipids' and 'persist in the body for many years,' illustrating the pattern for fat‑soluble, persistent chemicals.

By analogy, a student could test whether brominated flame retardants are fat‑soluble and persistent; if so, they may show similar accumulation in animal/human fats.

Mentions several bromine‑containing compounds (halons, hydrobromo fluorocarbons) used in fire‑related applications, linking bromine chemistry to fire‑suppression/retardant uses.

A student could combine this with the POPs/bioaccumulation rules to consider that brominated chemicals used for fire protection might share behaviour (persistence/accumulation) with other brominated compounds.