Banned flame retardants still linger across MENA

A University of Sharjah review says polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, remain a persistent environmental and public health risk across the Middle East and North Africa despite global restrictions. The findings point to industrial hotspots, indoor dust, and recycled materials as key pathways that can keep reintroducing the chemicals into daily life.

Why it matters: - PBDEs are banned or phased out in many places, but they still persist in soil, sediment, dust, water, air and living organisms across the Middle East and North Africa. - The chemicals can reappear in recycled plastics and consumer goods, creating exposure risks in homes, schools, offices, repair shops and recycling settings. - The review warns that recycling and circular-economy programs can spread legacy flame retardants unless chemical screening is built in from the start.

What happened: - Scientists from the University of Sharjah published a systematic review in Environmental Research on contamination from polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. - The paper looks at PBDE exposure across the MENA region and focuses on how the chemicals move through environmental and indoor settings. - The review covers studies from Turkey, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Iran and Egypt. - The article is available as the published study.

The details: - PBDEs were used for decades as flame retardants in electronics, textiles, plastics, household materials, furniture and upholstery. - The study followed PRISMA guidelines and searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for peer-reviewed English-language papers through November 2025. - The initial search found 186 records, which narrowed to 38 studies in the final analysis. - Turkey accounted for more than 17 studies, and Kuwait contributed eight. - Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Iran and Egypt each appeared in one to three studies. - The researchers found contamination was highly uneven and depended on location and environmental medium. - Industrialized and urban areas showed especially elevated levels. - BDE-209, a PBDE congener tied to deca-BDE formulations, was widespread in soils and sediments. - Lower-brominated congeners such as BDE-47 and BDE-99 were more common in indoor environments. - Indoor air and dust emerged as major reservoirs, especially where electronics, flame-retardant materials and poor ventilation are present. - Children may face higher risk because contaminated dust can be swallowed accidentally. - The review says sediments and soils can act as long-term chemical archives and continuing sources of exposure.

Between the lines: - The evidence base is uneven across the region, with Turkey contributing much of the published research and many other countries still under-studied. - That gap likely reflects limited monitoring capacity and research investment, not necessarily lower contamination. - The study frames PBDEs as a systems problem linking product safety, e-waste, recycling, indoor exposure, industrial emissions and food-chain risk. - The pattern suggests older industrial and consumer-product decisions are still shaping environmental health today.

What's next: - The authors call for coordinated monitoring across air, water, soil, sediment, dust and biota. - MENA countries expanding recycling and waste-recovery efforts may need tighter chemical controls to prevent contaminated materials from re-entering consumer products. - More studies are likely needed in underrepresented countries to close surveillance gaps and map exposure more accurately.

The bottom line: - PBDEs may be legacy chemicals, but the review says their health and environmental footprint is still active across MENA.