One of the principles of environmental protection is that wastes must be recycled. However, it is counterproductive to reintroduce a recycled product which contains pollutants. An UBA study examines how this can be prevented for five persistent organic pollutants (POP).
For a long time the chemical hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, was the most economically significant flame retardant used in polystyrene foam for insulation materials. Our background paper, also available in English, provides answers to the most important questions concerning the phase-out.
The German Environment Agency supports the cooperation on human biomonitoring between the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German chemical industrial association (VCI). The cooperation is significant for the development of new analytical methods to enable the detection of chemicals in urine or blood samples to which the population may have increased exposure or are of special relevance
Flame retardants reduce the flammability of objects and can therefore delay the onset of a fire. Some of the commonly used flame retardants, however, can be toxic to the environment and human health. They are widespread traceable in indoor spaces and nature.
Products used in construction contain many organic and inorganic substances. If they are released into the indoor air of buildings, or into the soil and groundwater, they can pose a risk to the environment and human health. Sofar these inputs of contaminants from building products have been quantified only sporadically.
Certain types of products such as packaging, electrical devices and cars are made of plastic in whole or in part, and at some point become waste. In the interest of recovering these plastics, various regulations of producer responsibility have been enacted with the goal of ensuring that these materials are optimally recycled.
