Environmental Risk Limits for several phosphate esters,with possible application as flame retardant

Maximum Permissible Concentrations (MPC), Negligible Concentrations (NC) and Serious Risk Concentrations (SRCeco) are derived for a number of phosphate esters that are possibly used as flame retardant. These environmental risk limits were derived for the compartments water, soil, and sediment on basis of ecotoxicological data for the aquatic environment in particular. The substances that were evaluated in this study were: TCEP (tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate), TCPP (tris(2-chloro-1-methylethyl) phosphate), TDCP (tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate), TBP (tri-n-butyl phosphate), TiBP (tri-iso-butyl phosphate), TEP (triethyl phosphate), TBEP (tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate), TEHP (tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate), TPP (triphenyl phosphate), and TCP (tricresyl phosphate). Monitoring data for the Netherlands (1989, 1999-2004) show that for most phosphate esters the concentrations in surface water are around the NC values. It appears that only concentrations of TPP sometimes exceed the MPC value.