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Further Information

Related Research Projects and Institutions

The "WAFER" Project (Identification and Treatment options for Waste Streams of Certain Bromine-Containing Flame Retardants) was an EPA-funded study conducted between 2015-2019 by members of the current TERRAChem Research team. This was the first study in Ireland (and the largest in Europe at the time) to investigate the presence of hazardous brominated flame retardants (BRs) in the plastics and polymer-based textiles and foams from a range of end-of-life consumer goods, including: electrical equipment, furniture and furnishings, end of life vehicle fabrics and padding, and building insulation foams. The study found extensive presence of hazardous BFRs in end of life goods despite legislative restrictions prohibiting their use, largely due to the lack of waste screening methods capable of removing hazardous materials from circulation. This study posited the use of portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) for this purpose and found it to be up to 95 % effective in screening for legislative compliance.
You can read the final report from this project via the EPA's Research Report Archives.

Following from the WAFER project, the FUEL Project was established which aimed to improve the knowledge-base ragarding POP-BFRs and PFAS in the waste and recycling streams in Ireland. Specifically, this project undertook an assessment of a range of BFRs and PFASs in leachate from domestic waste landfills across the country in order to gause the volumes of BFR/PFAS-treated waste which may have been landfilled over the last several decades, as well as assess the degree of eneivonmental contamination surrounding those sites due to run-off of landfill effluent. Air, soil, and groundwater, and raw leachate were monitored as a part of this study and, while air and soil showed little contamiantion, groundwater was of particular interest in terms of uptake of certain restricted PFASs including PFOS and PFOA. Raw leachate meanwhile showed concerning concentrations of both BFRs and PFASs, which would have implications for the environments surrounding those sites as well as for leachate which is treated at wastewater treatment plants.
You can find the final report on the FUEL project here.

Room ELEVATE 300px Another collaborative research project between NUI Galway and the University of Birmingham has also recently commenced. The “ELEVATE” project (Elucidating Levels and Pathways of Human Exposure in Ireland to POP-BFRs and PFOS) evaluates human exposure to POP-BFRs and PFOS through inhalation of air, ingestion of and dermal contact with household dust, as well as ingestion of water. Further details of this study can be found on the project website (www.nuigalway.ie/elevate/).

The latest NUIG-based project investigating these POPs and chemicals of emerging concern in the Irish environment was the SAFER project. This was a direct follow-on from WAFER, investigating the evolution of flame retarding chemicals in consumer goods and end of life materials, while also investigating the continued efficacy of portable XRF as a screening tool for legislative compliance. This project concluded in 2021 and the final report is due to be published in Q4 2022.