Despite international bans and restrictions, toxic flame-retardant chemicals continue to contaminate the environment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), posing persistent risks to ecosystems and human health, according to a new scientific review.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)—a group of persistent organic pollutants once widely used as flame retardants in electronics, furniture, textiles and plastics—remain prevalent in soils, sediments, air, water and indoor environments across the region.
Researchers systematically reviewed 38 scientific studies conducted across MENA countries and found that contamination levels varied significantly by country and environmental setting. Türkiye recorded the highest concentrations and the greatest number of contamination hotspots, particularly in industrial and urban areas, while remote coastal locations generally showed much lower levels.
The review identified BDE-209, a compound associated with commercial deca-BDE flame retardants, as the dominant pollutant in soils and sediments, suggesting that these environments continue to act as long-term reservoirs of contamination. In contrast, indoor air and household dust contained higher levels of lower-brominated PBDEs, including BDE-47 and BDE-99, indicating that consumer products remain an important source of human exposure.
Although commercial PBDE formulations have been phased out or banned under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the researchers said legacy products, recycling activities and contaminated waste continue to release the chemicals into the environment years after their use was restricted. Several MENA countries are signatories to the convention, but comprehensive long-term monitoring programmes remain limited across much of the region.
The authors concluded that while the overall ecological and human health risks identified in the reviewed studies were generally low to moderate, industrial hotspots, food-chain accumulation in some coastal areas, and chronic indoor exposure remain causes for concern. They called for harmonised regional monitoring, improved reporting standards and targeted assessments of pollution hotspots and indoor environments to better protect environmental and public health.
Source: ScienceDirect
