Alternatives for Brominated Flame Retardants - Miljøstyrelsen

Red phosphorus is often contaminated with white and yellow phosphorus,
and information on these two allotropic forms is therefore included.
Pure red phosphorus seems to be less harmful than the two other allotropic
forms.
The substance is classified as highly flammable and may explode when exposed
to heat or by chemical reaction with oxidisers. Red phosphorus can
also react with reducing materials and represent a moderate explosion hazard
by chemical reaction or on contact with organic materials.
Large quantities ignite spontaneously and on exposure to oxidising materials.
It reacts with oxygen and water vapour to evolve the toxic phosphine.
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No ecotoxicological data on red phosphorus were identified.
The available data on yellow phosphorus indicates that this allotropic form
of phosphorus is very toxic to algae and fish.
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The health screening on zinc borate show that only few data sets are available.
Boric acid can be formed, if zinc borate gets in contact with water e.g. body
fluids.
Based on comparison with sodium borate and boric acid, respectively, the
possible main effects are expected to be:
* Irritation of skin, eyes and throat
* Harm to the unborn child.
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No data was found on the compound ZnO(B 2 O 3 ) 2 . Since the compound may
dissociate in the environment, limited data sets on the Zn-ion and Sodium
tetraborate are presented. The effect concentrations of zinc borate are estimated
from the effect concentrations of disodium tetraborate (CAS no.
1330-43-4). This approach is based on the assumption that the total toxicity
of disodium tetraborate and zinc borate originates from the boric acid
formed upon dissolution.
Zinc is an essential element for many organisms, however, for crustaceans
zinc is very toxic.
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Melamine seems to be only mildly toxic when ingested by animals. There is
not sufficient data to predict acute toxicity from dermal application in humans.
The available data does not show evidence of irritation, cancer induction
or mutageneity by melamine.
Based on animal tests it seems there is a risk of formation of stones in the
urinary bladder.
A risk of inducing dermatitis in humans exposed to melamine among other
chemicals in the working environment has been reported, however, the data
was obtained in a formaldehyde-rich environment.
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