Plastic materials are used for a large variety of commercial products, including household devices, automobile part, medical devices, and also for food contact materials. Plastic disposal has become an important environmental concern since, in general, plastics are not biodegradable and may remain unaltered for several years. One alternative to avoid plastic waste is the recycling process which avoids the manufacture of new plastics as well as their disposal to the environment.<br/>Flame retardants are substances used to decrease the flammability in several types of materials. These compounds are often used as additives in the manufacture of furniture, plastics, construction materials, etc. Several of these compounds are known to be persistent, bio-accumulated and/or have toxic effects in animals. Recently, some flame retardants have been found in food contact materials (FCMs). These compounds were most likely present in recycled plastic FCMs because of electronic waste (WEEE) contamination during the recycling process.<br/>In this study an analytical method for determination of flame retardants was developed. The method was validated in terms of LOD, LOQ, correlation coefficient as well as relative standard deviation. The method was applied for a survey in the US market for determination of the incidence of flame retardants in FCM.

Analysis of flame retardants: A survey of food contact materials

254th National Meeting (2017)

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