[STUDY] Cooking Tools and Toys Made of Black-Colored Plastic Linked to Toxic Flame Retardants

A new study has revealed that black-colored plastic used in kitchen utensils and children’s toys may contain disturbingly huge amounts of toxic flame retardants typically used to recycle electronic products. 

According to a study published on Tuesday (Oct. 1) in the journal Chemosphere, 203 products contained bromine, a highly toxic chemical commonly used as a flame retardant in electronics. The products where bromine was detected ranged from children’s costumes to kitchen spatulas and trays. 

The study was revealed by the environmental advocacy group Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s Institute for Life and Environment. 

Flame Retardants Found in Children’s Toys, Kitchen Equipment

Toxic-Free’s policy manager and lead study author Megan Liu told CNN that one of the products her fellow researchers found to contain very high amounts of toxic flame retardants was a black plastic pirate coin beads that kids wear, which had up to 22,800 parts per million of total flame retardants, or almost 3% of its total weight. 

Another product examined in the study was a black plastic sushi tray, which contained 11,900 parts per million of the flame retardant class polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). 

People who are the most exposed to or have ingested PBDEs have an approximately 300% likelihood of dying from cancer, according to a separate April 2024 study published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Liu recommended replacing plastic kitchen utensils with stainless steel ones and preferring to use plastic-free items to reduce plastic’s environmental impact. She further suggested not keeping food items in plastic containers and instead storing them in glass, stainless steel, or ceramic dishes.

Study Claims Retardants Still Detected in Test Samples

In 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency banned decaBDE, a type of PBDE, after it was revealed that the chemical is linked to cancer, endocrine and thyroid issues, complications in child development and neurobehavioral functions, and reproductive and immune system toxicity. 

However, the study indicated that decaBDE was detected in around 70% of the test samples, which still exceeded the European Union’s limit of 10 parts per million, Liu emphasized.

Study researchers also revealed that a person exposed to contaminated black plastic kitchen utensils could be exposed to an average of 34.7 parts per million decaBDE every day.

In response, former National Institute for Environmental Sciences director and toxicologist Linda Birnbaum, who was not involved in the study, said that discovering retardants that should no longer be used in certain products was concerning and would recommend not using black plastic for storing food or buy toys with black plastic parts.

Issue on Black Plastics

Meanwhile, the North American Flame Retardant Alliance (NAFRA), which represents manufacturers and users of flame-resistant chemicals, said that the new study does not account for any exposure pathways, especially human ones. 

According to NAFRA’s director of product communication Erich Shea, using flame redundants in electronics and appliances has become instrumental in reducing fire-related incidents.  

Shea added that recycling plastics from electronic waste is crucial in creating a circular economy and reducing the environmental impact of plastic waste. She further explained that the recent study’s concern was focused on black plastic, which should not be recycled in products that lead to human exposure. 

McGill University Office for Science and Society director Dr. Joe Schwarcz wrote in 2023 that black plastics complicate the recycling process because they normally contain carbon black, which absorbs infrared (IR) radiation when IR light is shone on them during the process.