[Decabromodiphenyl ethane: a review of its pollution levels and toxicity]

Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) is a kind of new brominated flame retardants, which is widely used as a replace of decabromodiphenyl ether in electronic appliances, textiles and other goods. This review summarizes environmental levels and body burden of human beings of DBDPE in recent years. The data shows that the concentration of DBDPE in the environment and human tissues shows an upward trend. According to limited experiments about its toxicity, DBDPE shows similar toxicity to decabromodiphenyl ether. DBDPE can interfere thyroid hormones balance, and cause damage to liver, reproductive development, kidney, et al, which implies that DBDPE might be another new persistent organic pollutant. Further researches are needed.