BE: MUSES: Life Cycle Assessment and Policy Aspects of Brominated Flame Retardants

环境/材料使用中的生物复杂性：科学、工程和社会研究项目调查了溴化阻燃剂（brf）在使用过程中或处置后从产品到环境的潜在途径，以及涉及brf及其产品的制造、使用和监管的不同利益相关者群体的观点。阻燃剂使塑料、家具和其他产品的制造商能够以经济的方式满足严格的防火要求。然而，在动物和人类的脂肪组织中也测量到bfr的浓度越来越高。出于对bfr环境安全的担忧，包括加州在内的一些司法管辖区禁止了某些配方。虽然各方都强调安全的重要性，但假设不同的团体将在其BFR论点中强调所谓的“预防原则”的不同方面。例如，制造商可能在政治上以火灾风险的“谨慎”来描述这个问题，而环保团体可能强调对这些几乎无处不在的化合物的生物积累所造成的未知健康风险的“谨慎”。为了更好地理解这些重叠的“预防”思想在政治进程中的作用，并可能确定互惠互利的机会，多学科研究小组将应用多标准决策分析，以寻找最能解决每个群体关切的BFR公式。研究结果将有助于可持续工程和政策教育项目的发展，帮助监管机构做出紧迫的政策决策，加强学术界、政府、行业和非政府组织之间的联系，并为其他环境政策和决策问题的调查提供一个更强大的框架。

This Biocomplexity in the Environment / Materials Use: Science, Engineering and Society research project investigates potential pathways of Brominated Flame Retardants (BRFs) to the environment from products during use or after disposal, as well as the perspectives of different stakeholder groups involved in manufacture, use, and regulation of BFRs and products that contain them. BFRs enable manufacturers of plastics, furniture, and other products to meet stringent fire resistance requirements in an economical manner. However, BFRs have also been measured in the fatty tissues of animals and humans in increasing concentrations. Concern about the environmental safety of BFRs has lead to the prohibition of some formulations in some jurisdictions, including California. While all parties stress the importance of safety, it is hypothesized that different groups will emphasize different dimensions of the so-called "precautionary principle" in their BFR arguments. For example, manufacturers may frame the issue politically in terms of "caution" about risks from fire, while environmental groups may emphasize "caution" regarding the unknown health risks posed by bio-accumulation of these nearly ubiquitous compounds. To better understand the role of these overlapping ideas of "precaution" in the political process, and possibly identify opportunities for mutual advantage, the multidisciplinary research team will apply multi-criteria decision analysis in search of BFR formulations that best address each group's concerns. The results will contribute to development of educational programs in sustainable engineering and policy, aid regulators with pressing policy decisions, strengthen ties between academia, government, industry and non-governmental organizations, and result in a more robust framework for investigation of other environmental policy and decision making problems.