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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SALMON STUDY FINDINGS ALREADY ADDRESSED BY INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY MEASURES WASHINGTON, DC, August 12, 2004 –-/WORLD-WIRE/-- Findings of a new study on farmed and wild salmon, are already being addressed by an industry voluntary phase-out of certain lower brominated flame retardants. The industry’s commitment is expected to reduce occurrences of these congeners in salmon in the short to medium term. The study detected very low levels of low PBDE congeners, mainly from the commercial product Penta-BDE in farmed and wild salmon. Typically the levels detected mean that a person weighing 150 lbs (70 kilos) would have to eat more than six tons of salmon each day before experiencing any related adverse effects on their health. As the sole manufacturer of Penta-BDE has already announced to voluntarily cease production of this product by December 31, 2004, these levels are expected to soon plateau, reverse course, and then decrease over time. BSEF is, however, concerned about potentially misleading reporting in the study in regards to use of the term "PBDEs," as the most significant commercial PBDE -- Deca- BDE -- has not been included within the study's scope. Deca-BDE is a widely used material that is integral to securing high safety standards for consumers in the U.S. and Europe. The EU has recently closed a ten year scientific assessment of Deca-BDE which concluded that it poses no risk to the environment or health and can be used in all applications. Deca-BDE does not have the same potential as the lower congeners for uptake, and its detection in fish is uncommon. CONTACT: For the USA: Peter O’Toole, tel: 202-530-4847 For Europe: Lawrie McLaren, tel +32.2.733.93.70 For more information, fire safety facts, pictures and video visit: www.bsef.org REFERENCES: Closure of Deca-BDE Risk Assessment: UK House of Commons Official report, July 6, 2004 1 ‘Global Assessment of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Farmed and Wild Salmon’ Ronald Hites et al, Environmental Science and Technology, July 2004, http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/index.html
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