Bromine Science and Environment Forum
The BSEF and its history
BSEF was established in 1997 and represents four of the world’s major producers of brominated flame retardants – based in the US, Israel and Japan. Although the name suggests an academic body or environmentalist organisation, or a coalition of scientists, environmentalists and other stakeholders, in reality BSEF comprises of - and is funded by - the Albemarle Corporation, Dead Sea Bromine Group (now renamed ICL Industrial Products), Great Lakes Chemical Corporation and Tosoh Corporation. It is represented by the PR giant Burson Marstellar in Brussels, who are highly experienced in running corporate front groups. Burson-Marsteller also runs several other bromine industry outfits fighting EU bans on chemical products, such as the 'Alliance for Consumer Fire Safety in Europe' (ACFSE) and the European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel (EBFRIP), which consists of three of the four BSEF corporations[1],[2].
BSEF had hitherto managed to operate relatively unchallenged, but the group has recently run into heavy criticism due to increasing concern over the use of bromides as flame retardants. The California-based Environmental Working Group, for instance, in a July 2003 report called the BSEF "a lobbying front dedicated to casting doubt on the mounting evidence against brominated chemicals" [3]. In a recent Open Letter calling the EU Commission to introduce binding rules on lobbying, BSEF was described as an “industry front group run from the Brussels offices of a global PR firm, on behalf of chemical industry clients� [4]. BSEF actually employs no staff of its own in Brussels; everyone working for BSEF from the Cortenbergh 118 head offices is a Burson-Marsteller consultant, from high-level Program Director Lawrie McLaren to Ms Angela Albers of the secretariat. In addition to this, the whole of the BSEF's budget goes through Burson-Marsteller [5].
Growing concern over Bromides
Bromine flame retardants (BFRs) are chemical compounds used in many products, ranging from computer casings to textiles and furniture, in order to reduce the risks of fire. There are many types of brominated flame retardants on the market, but the debate on potential risks has centred around the polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs. Evidence is growing that PBDEs pose a serious risk to human health and the environment and are often compared to toxins like DDT and PCBs, both banned in most parts of the world in the 1970s. Sweden took the lead in investigating the effects of these flame retardants, after toxins in the breast milk of Swedish women were discovered in the 1990's. PBDEs interfere with the body's hormone system and foetus development, resulting in unusual types of cancer, disturbance of brain development and reduced resistance to disease[6].
External links
Corporate Europe Observatory, Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF), Front Group for the Bromine Industry
