SedimentHBCD (µg/kg dry weight)
|
MusselsHBCD (µg/kg wet weight)
|
|
---|---|---|
|
North |
|
Not detected | Metlakatla | Not detected |
Prince Rupert | ||
Not detected | Wiah Point | Not detected |
Not detected | Armentieres Channel | Not detected |
Not detected | Bischof Islands | Not detected |
Not detected | Haswell Bay | Not detected |
Not detected | Louscoone Inlet | Not detected |
Not detected | Bella Bella | Not detected |
Not detected | Port Neville | Not detected |
Not detected | Sechelt | Not sampled |
Not detected | Howe Sound 1 | Not sampled |
Howe Sound 2 | Not detected | |
Not analyzed | Howe Sound 3 | Not detected |
Not detected | Indian Arm 1 | Not detected |
Not detected | Indian Arm 2 | |
Burrard Inlet 1 | Not detected | |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 2 | Not sampled |
Burrard Inlet 3 | Not detected | |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 4 | Not analyzed |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 5 | Not sampled |
Not detected | Burrard Inlet 6 | |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 7 | Not sampled |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 8 | Not detected |
Not sampled | Burrard Inlet 9 | Not detected |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 10 | Not detected |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 11 | Not sampled |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 12 | Not sampled |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 13 | Not sampled |
Not analyzed | Burrard Inlet 14 | Not sampled |
Not sampled | Burrard Inlet 15 | Not detected |
Not detected | Fraser River 1 | Not detected |
Not analyzed | Fraser River 2 | Not sampled |
Not analyzed | Fraser River 3 | Not sampled |
Fraser River 4 | Not sampled | |
Not detected | Fraser River 5 | Not sampled |
Not sampled | Fraser River 6 | Not detected |
Not sampled | Fraser River 7 | Not detected |
Not detected | Tsawwassen | Not sampled |
Not detected | Lemmens inlet | Not sampled |
Grice Bay | Not sampled | |
Dixon Island | Not detected | |
Not detected | Saturna Island | Not detected |
Not analyzed | Fulford Harbour 1 | Not analyzed |
Not analyzed | Fulford Harbour 2 | Not analyzed |
Not analyzed | Patricia Bay | Not analyzed |
Not analyzed | Finnerty Cove 1 | Not analyzed |
Not analyzed | Finnerty Cove 2 | Not sampled |
Victoria Harbour 1 | Not sampled | |
Victoria Harbour 2 | Not analyzed | |
Victoria Harbour 3 | Not sampled | |
Not analyzed | Victoria Harbour 4 | Not analyzed |
Not detected | Albert Head 1 | Not analyzed |
Not detected | Albert Head 2 | Not sampled |
South |
What is it?
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is a brominated flame retardant, used primarily in polystyrene foams for thermal insulation in the construction industry. HBCD is also used as a flame retardant on upholsteries, wall coverings, and draperies.1 HBCD is not known to be manufactured in Canada, but is still in use.
How does it get into the ocean?
The major pathways by which brominated flame retardants enter the marine environment are likely landfill runoff and leaching from finished products into wastewater systems.
Like other flame retardants, HBCD is persistent and bioaccumulates in food webs.2 However, while regulations appear to have resulted in decreasing concentrations of other flame retardants such as PBDEs3,4, HBCD concentrations may be increasing.5
Is it a problem?
Brominated flame retardants as a group are known to have toxic effects to immune, thyroid, reproductive, and neurological systems in terrestrial and aquatic organisms.7,8
In rats, HBCD exposure has been shown to cause increases in liver weight and changes to the thyroid system 9, while in mice, HBCD exposure caused developmental neurotoxicity.10
FACT: HBCD concentrations increased exponentially in the eggs of rhinoceros auklets, Leach’s storm-petrels, and ancient murrelets between 1990 and 2011.6 Low levels of HBCD were also detected in the eggs of cormorants and herons in British Columbia starting in 2003.3
What is being done?
In 2016, HBCD was added to Canada’s Toxic Substances Regulations. As of January 1, 2017, the manufacture, use, sale, and import of HBCD, as well as building and construction materials containing HBCD were prohibited in Canada.11 In 2016, the European Union also prohibited the manufacture, use, and sale of HBCD.
Canadian federal environmental quality guidelines (FEQGs) have been developed for HBCD in water and sediment.12
What can we do?
As individuals and organizations, we can:
- Learn more about HBCD and other brominated flame retardants using the resource links below
- Recycle and dispose of waste responsibly and according to local guidelines
- Avoid using products that contain HBCD and other contaminants of concern. The US EPA’s Safer Choice program identifies products that are safer for humans and the environment and can be used as a reference to check product ingredients.13,14 The Green Science Policy Institute also provides information regarding consumer choices.15
More information?
1 EC 2011. Screening Assessment Report on Hexabromocyclododecane. Environment Canada and Health Canada. November 2011. 125 p. Available: http://www.ec.gc.ca/ese-ees/7882C148-8AE4-4BA4-8555-668C49F91500/HBCD%20-%20FSAR%20-%20EN.pdf
2 de Wit C.A. 2002. An overview of brominated flame retardants in the environment. Chemosphere 46: 583-624.
3 Miller A, Elliott JE, Elliott KH, Guigueno MF, Wilson LK, Lee S, Idrissi A. 2015. Brominated flame retardant trends in aquatic birds from the Salish Sea region of the west coast of North America, including a mini-review of recent trends in marine and estuarine birds. Science of the Total Environment 502: 60-69.
4 Ross PS, Noël M, Lambourn D, Dangerfield N, Calalmbokidis J, Jeffries S. 2013. Declining concentrations of persistent PCBs, PBDEs, PCDEs, and PCNs in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from the Salish Sea. Progress in Oceanography 115: 160-170.
5 Covaci A, Gerecke AC, Law RJ, Voorspoels S, Kohler M, Heeb NV, Leslie H, Allchin CR, de Boer J. 2006. Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in the environment and humans: a review. Environmental Science and Technology 40: 3679-3688.
6 Miller A, Elliott JE, Elliott KH, Guigueno MF, Wilson LK, Lee S, Idrissi A. 2014. Spatial and temporal trends in brominated flame retardants in seabirds from the Pacific coast of Canada. Environmental Pollution 195: 48-55.
7 de Wit CA, Herzke D, Vorkamp K. 2010. Brominated flame retardants in the Arctic environment – trends and new candidates. Science of the Total Environment 408: 2885-2918.
8 Letcher RJ, Ove Bustnes J, Dietz R, Jenssen BM, Jorgensen EH, Sonne C, Verreault J, Vijayan MM, Gabrielsen GW. 2010. Exposure and effects assessment of persistent organohalogen contaminants in arctic wildlife and fish. Science of the Total Environment. 408(15): 2995-3043.
9 van der Ven LTM, Verhoef A, van de Kuil T, Slob W, Leonards PEG, Visser TJ, Hamers T, Herlin M, Håkansson H, Olausson H, Piersma AH, Vos JG. 2006. A 28-day oral dose toxicity study enhanced to detect endocrine effects of hexabromocyclododecane in Wistar rats. Toxicological Sciences 94: 281-292.
10 Eriksson P, Fischer C, Wallin M, Jakobsson E, Fredriksson A. 2006. Impaired behaviour, learning and memory, in adult mice neonatally exposed to hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD). Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 21: 317-322.
11 ECCC 2016a. Current Regulations: Regulations Amending the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 (for the addition of 5 substances) (SOR/2016-252). Environment and Climate Change Canada. Available: http://ec.gc.ca/lcpe-cepa/eng/regulations/DetailReg.cfm?intReg=226.
12 ECCC 2016b. Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines: Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). Environment and Climate Change Canada, May 2016
13 US EPA 2018. Safer Choice. Available at: https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice
14 US EPA. 2014. Flame Retardant Alternatives for Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). Available at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-06/documents/hbcd_report.pdf
15 Green Science Policy Institute. 2017. Flame Retardants. Available at: http://www.sixclasses.org/videos/flame-retardants