Bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate

Bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) is a chemical used in flame retardants including the commercial formulations Firemaster 550, Firemaster BZ-54, and DP 45.

TBPH has been found in polyurethane foam from common baby products and couch cushions.

Presence in the Environment

TBPH has been found in household dust in the United States, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. It has also been found in sewage sludge from American wastewater treatment plants. A 2014 study noted a strong correlation between the levels of TBPH in household dust and on children's hands.

A 2009 study reported that TBPH was found in blubber samples of dolphins and porpoises. A 2012 study reported high levels of TBPH in mollusks found downstream of a textile manufacturing outfall.

Other studies have found TBPH in the atmosphere. A 2012 study of the atmosphere in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. found that levels of the chemical were more concentrated in urban areas than in remote, rural areas and levels increased over the study period. Another study detected it in the atmosphere in samples taken as they traveled from Southeast Asia toward Antarctica. It was also found at "relatively high concentrations" in the Canadian High Arctic and on the Tibetan Plateau. Scientists anticipate that its presence in such remote places might signify the chemical's "significant potential for long-range atmospheric transport." A 2011 study detected it in air and seawater samples taken during a polar expedition cruise from East China Sea to the Arctic.

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Flame Retardants
• Citizens for Fire Safety
• CPAI-84
• Firemaster 550
• Firemaster BZ-54
• Triphenyl phosphate (TPP)

External resources

• Green Science Policy Institute
• Firemaster 550, Chemtura Corporation

External articles

2014

• Mankidy R, Ranjan B, Honaramooz A, Giesy JP, "Effects of novel brominated flame retardants on steroidogenesis in primary porcine testicular cells," Toxicol Lett, January 3, 2014.
• Stapleton HM, Misenheimer J, Hoffman K, Webster TF, "Flame retardant associations between children's handwipes and house dust," Chemosphere. January 30, 2014.
• Fromme H, Hilger B, Kopp E, Miserok M, Völkel W, "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and "novel" brominated flame retardants in house dust in Germany," Environ Int, March 2014.

2013

• Allen, J.G., Stapleton, H.M. Vallerino, J., McNeely, E., McClean, M.D., Harrad, S.J., Rauert, C., Spengler, J.D., Exposure to flame retardant chemicals on commercial airplanes," Environmental Health (2013).
• Johnson PI, Stapleton HM, Mukherjee B, Hauser R, Meeker JD, "Associations between brominated flame retardants in house dust and hormone levels in men," Sci Total Environ, February 15, 2013.
• La Guardia MJ, Hale RC, Newman B, "Brominated flame-retardants in Sub-Saharan Africa: burdens in inland and coastal sediments in the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, South Africa," Environmental Science & Technology, September 3, 2013.
• Ma Y, Salamova A, Venier M, Hites RA, "Has the phase-out of PBDEs affected their atmospheric levels? Trends of PBDEs and their replacements in the Great Lakes atmosphere," Environmental Science & Technology, October 15, 2013.
• Mankidy R, Ranjan B, Honaramooz A, Giesy JP, "Effects of Novel Brominated Flame Retardants on Steroidogenesis in Primary Porcine Testicular Cells," Toxicol Lett, October 24, 2013.
• Saunders DM, Higley EB, Hecker M, Mankidy R, Giesy JP, "In vitro endocrine disruption and TCDD-like effects of three novel brominated flame retardants: TBPH, TBB, & TBCO," Toxicology Letters, November 25, 2013.
• Carignan CC, Heiger-Bernays W, McClean MD, Roberts SC, Stapleton HM, Sjödin A, Webster TF, "Flame retardant exposure among collegiate United States gymnasts," Environmental Science & Technology, December 3, 2013.

2012

• Heather M. Stapleton, Smriti Sharma, Gordon Getzinger, P. Lee Ferguson, Michelle Gabriel, Thomas F. Webster, and Arlene Blum, "Novel and High Volume Use Flame Retardants in US Couches Reflective of the 2005 PentaBDE Phase Out," Environmental Science & Technology, 2012, 46 (24), pp 13432–13439 DOI: 10.1021/es303471d.
• Ma Y, Venier M, Hites RA, "2-Ethylhexyl tetrabromobenzoate and bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate flame retardants in the Great Lakes atmosphere," Environmental Science & Technology, January 3, 2012.
• Xiao H, Shen L, Su Y, Barresi E, Dejong M, Hung H, Lei YD, Wania F, Reiner EJ, Sverko E, Kang SC, "Atmospheric concentrations of halogenated flame retardants at two remote locations: the Canadian High Arctic and the Tibetan Plateau," Environ Pollut, February 2012.
• Möller A, Xie Z, Cai M, Sturm R, Ebinghaus R, "Brominated flame retardants and dechlorane plus in the marine atmosphere from Southeast Asia toward Antarctica," Environmental Science & Technology, March 20, 2012.
• Davis EF, Klosterhaus SL, Stapleton HM, "Measurement of flame retardants and triclosan in municipal sewage sludge and biosolids," Environ Int, April 2012.
• La Guardia MJ, Hale RC, Harvey E, Mainor TM, Ciparis S, "In situ accumulation of HBCD, PBDEs, and several alternative flame-retardants in the bivalve (Corbicula fluminea) and gastropod (Elimia proxima)," Environmental Science & Technology, June 5, 2012.
• Valerie J. Brown, "Why is it So Difficult to Choose Safer Alternatives for Hazardous Chemicals?," Environmental Health Perspectives, July 2012.
• Roberts SC, Macaulay LJ, Stapleton HM, "In vitro metabolism of the brominated flame retardants 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) and bis(2-ethylhexyl) 2,3,4,5-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) in human and rat tissues," Chem Res Toxicol, July 2012.
• Simon C. Roberts, Laura J. Macaulay, and Heather M. Stapleton, "In Vitro Metabolism of the Brominated Flame Retardants 2-Ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-Tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) and Bis(2-Ethylhexyl) 2,3,4,5-Tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) in Human and Rat Tissues," Chemical Research in Toxicology, July 16, 2012.
• Sahlström L, Sellström U, de Wit CA, "Clean-up method for determination of established and emerging brominated flame retardants in dust," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, August 2012.
• Ali N, Dirtu AC, Van den Eede N, Goosey E, Harrad S, Neels H, 't Mannetje A, Coakley J, Douwes J, Covaci A, "Occurrence of alternative flame retardants in indoor dust from New Zealand: indoor sources and human exposure assessment," Chemosphere, September 2012.
• Klosterhaus SL, Stapleton HM, La Guardia MJ, Greig DJ, "Brominated and chlorinated flame retardants in San Francisco Bay sediments and wildlife," Environ Int, October 15, 2012.
• Patisaul HB, Roberts SC, Mabrey N, McCaffrey KA, Gear RB, Braun J, Belcher SM, Stapleton HM. 2012. "Accumulation and Endocrine Disrupting Effects of the Flame Retardant Mixture Firemaster(®) 550 in Rats: An Exploratory Assessment." J Biochem Mol Toxicol; doi: 10.1002/jbt.21439. [Online 8 November 2012].
• Jonathan S. Bearr, Carys L. Mitchelmore, and Heather M. Stapleton, "Species specific differences in the in vitro metabolism of the flame retardant mixture, Firemaster® BZ-54," Aquatic Toxicology, November 15, 2012.
• Robin E. Dodson, Laura J. Perovich, and Ruthann A. Rude, "After the PBDE Phase-Out: A Broad Suite of Flame Retardants in Repeat House Dust Samples from California," Environmental Science & Technology, December 18, 2012.
• Cecilia Springer, Edward Dere, and Kim Boekelheide, "Rodent Thyroid, Liver, and Fetal Testis Toxicity of the Monoester Metabolite of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) Tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), a Novel Brominated Flame Retardant Present in Indoor Dust," Environmental Health Perspectives, Dec 2012.
• Springer C, Dere E, Hall SJ, McDonnell EV, Roberts SC, Butt CM, Stapleton HM, Watkins DJ, McClean MD, Webster TF, Schlezinger JJ, Boekelheide K, "Rodent thyroid, liver, and fetal testis toxicity of the monoester metabolite of bis-(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (tbph), a novel brominated flame retardant present in indoor dust," Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2012.

2011

• Ali N, Harrad S, Goosey E, Neels H, Covaci A, ""Novel" brominated flame retardants in Belgian and UK indoor dust: implications for human exposure," Chemosphere, May 2011.
• Ali N, Harrad S, Muenhor D, Neels H, Covaci A, "Analytical characteristics and determination of major novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in indoor dust," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, July 2011.
• Möller A, Xie Z, Cai M, Zhong G, Huang P, Cai M, Sturm R, He J, Ebinghaus R, "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers vs alternate brominated flame retardants and Dechloranes from East Asia to the Arctic," Environmental Science & Technology, August 15, 2011.

2010

• Bearr JS, Stapleton HM, Mitchelmore CL, "Accumulation and DNA damage in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to 2 brominated flame-retardant mixtures, Firemaster 550 and Firemaster BZ-54," Environ Toxicol Chem, March 2010.

2000s

• Stapleton HM, Allen JG, Kelly SM, Konstantinov A, Klosterhaus S, Watkins D, McClean MD, Webster TF, "Alternate and new brominated flame retardants detected in U.S. house dust," Environmental Science & Technology, September 15, 2008.
• Davis EF, Stapleton HM, "Photodegradation pathways of nonabrominated diphenyl ethers, 2-ethylhexyltetrabromobenzoate and di(2-ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate: identifying potential markers of photodegradation," Environmental Science & Technology, August 1, 2009.
• Lam JC, Lau RK, Murphy MB, Lam PK, "Temporal trends of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and detection of two novel flame retardants in marine mammals from Hong Kong, South China," Environmental Science & Technology, September 15, 2009.
• Heather M. Stapleton, Susan Klosterhaus, and Thomas F. Webster, "Detection of Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Furniture Foam and US House Dust," Environmental Science and Technology, October 1, 2009.
• Jonathan S. Bearr, Heather M. Stapleton and Carys L. Mitchelmore, "Accumulation and DNA damage in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to 2 brominated flame-retardant mixtures, Firemaster® 550 and Firemaster® BZ-54," Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, December 10, 2009.