TBBPA (Tetrabromobisphenol A): Properties, Uses in Plastics and Regulatory Status

TBBPA (tetrabromobisphenol A, CAS 79-94-7) is a brominated phenol used mainly as a reactive flame retardant, built into the epoxy resin of FR-4 printed circuit board laminates rather than blended into it. Because most TBBPA is chemically bound into the polymer instead of dispersed in it, its regulatory position differs from that of additive brominated flame retardants, which raises the question of what its SVHC listing actually requires of a compounder.

TBBPA has been on the REACH Candidate List as a Substance of Very High Concern since 17 January 2023, listed as a carcinogen under Article 57(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, and it carries a harmonised Carc. 1B (H350) classification applicable since 1 September 2025 under the 21st ATP, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/197. TBBPA is one of 56 flame retardant pages in our directory of plastic additives, each with the same identity, dosage and regulatory fields.

This page carries the identity and property data, the reactive versus additive distinction that decides how much free TBBPA an article actually contains, the polymers and applications, the performance tests used to rate a compound, the synergists TBBPA is paired with, a dated regulatory matrix covering SVHC, Carc. 1B, RoHS, TSCA and Prop 65, the health and environmental profile, the main alternatives, and the producers of bromine-based flame retardants.

Table T1. TBBPA identity card.

Footnote: identity data from PubChem CID 6618 and ECHA CHEM 100.001.125. Regulatory status as of 23 September 2026.

What Is TBBPA (Tetrabromobisphenol A)?#

TBBPA is 2,2',6,6'-tetrabromo-4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol, a brominated phenol carrying four bromine atoms on two phenol rings joined by an isopropylidene bridge. Which substances does the abbreviation TBBPA actually cover? Every data sheet, regulatory filing and catalogue listing that uses TBBPA, TBBP-A or the full systematic name refers to the same single-CAS substance, CAS 79-94-7, EC 201-236-9.

TBBPA serves two functions depending on how it is put into a polymer. As a reactive flame retardant it reacts into the epoxy backbone of FR-4 laminates and of polycarbonate, becoming part of the cured resin rather than a free additive. As an additive flame retardant it is compounded, unreacted, into ABS housings alongside a synergist. In a fire, the bromine TBBPA carries traps the hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals that keep a flame's chain reaction running, the mechanism common to every brominated flame retardant. That reactive and additive split, and what it means for how much free TBBPA an article contains, is the subject of the next section.

What does TBBPA stand for?#

TBBPA stands for tetrabromobisphenol A, also written TBBP-A, and it is the same substance as 2,2',6,6'-tetrabromo-4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol, CAS 79-94-7. All three names, the abbreviation, the trade shorthand and the IUPAC-style systematic name, resolve to a single EC number, 201-236-9, so a data sheet, an SDS or a customs declaration that uses any of them describes the same molecule.

Is TBBPA a brominated flame retardant?#

Yes: TBBPA is a brominated flame retardant, and more precisely an aromatic, non-polymeric one, the sub-group that also contains decaBDE, DBDPE, BTBPE and TBPH. Among brominated flame retardants, TBBPA sits in the aromatic, non-polymeric group beside decaBDE, DBDPE, BTBPE and TBPH, and beside its own derivative, TBBPA-DBPE. The classification tree splits into three branches, listed below.

• Aromatic non-polymeric brominated flame retardants: decaBDE, DBDPE, EBTBP, FR-245, TBBPA, TBBPA-DBPE, BTBPE and TBPH.
• Aliphatic brominated flame retardants: substances built on non-aromatic backbones, a separate assessment track from the aromatic group.
• Polymeric brominated flame retardants: high-molecular-weight substances such as brominated epoxy oligomers and brominated polystyrene, which the REACH restriction work now under way explicitly leaves out of scope.

TBBPA's own volume sits inside a larger figure: brominated flame retardants as a class reached sales of 390,000 tonnes in 2011, about 19.7 % of that year's flame retardant market, and TBBPA's own EU consumption was recorded at 6,200 tonnes in 2004.

Is TBBPA the same as bisphenol A (BPA)?#

No: TBBPA and bisphenol A are different substances with different CAS numbers, different functions and different rules, even though TBBPA is structurally the tetrabrominated form of the bisphenol A skeleton. Bisphenol A is a monomer that becomes part of the polycarbonate and epoxy resin backbone during polymerisation, which places it outside the additive scope this site covers, while TBBPA is supplied as a flame retardant that is added to or reacted into an already-formed resin system.

The EU instruments that cover the two substances are separate. Regulation (EU) 2024/3190 on bisphenols in plastics entered into force on 20 January 2025 and targets bisphenol A as a food-contact monomer, with a general transition period ending 20 July 2026, and the Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 lists ten bisphenols under its Appendix Part D. TBBPA is covered by the flame retardant instruments in the table further down this page; whether the bisphenol-specific EU acts also name TBBPA is being verified.

TBBPA derivatives: TBBPA-DBPE, TBBPA-DBMPE and brominated epoxy#

Three commercial flame retardants are derived from TBBPA: TBBPA-DBPE (CAS 21850-44-2) for polypropylene, TBBPA-DBMPE (CAS 97416-84-7) for polyurethane and soft PVC, and brominated epoxy oligomers (CAS 68928-70-1) for PBT, ABS and HIPS. Each derivative carries its own Candidate List status rather than inheriting TBBPA's, so a reactive TBBPA laminate and a TBBPA-DBPE polypropylene compound sit on different compliance files.

Table. TBBPA-derived flame retardants.

TBBPA-DBPE is the polypropylene flame retardant built from TBBPA, and it carries its own Candidate List status on the TBBPA-DBPE substance page. TBBPA-DBMPE follows the same pattern in polyurethane and soft PVC but is not itself covered on this site as a separate substance page.

How Does TBBPA Make Plastics Flame Retardant?#

TBBPA works in the gas phase: the bromine it carries is released as hydrogen bromide in a fire, and that hydrogen bromide scavenges the hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals that keep the flame's chain reaction running. Does it matter whether the bromine is bound into the resin or merely mixed into it? That question is answered in the next section, but the gas-phase chemistry itself is the same whichever form TBBPA takes.

A flame sustains itself through a branching radical chain reaction, in which hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals multiply faster than they are consumed. Halogen flame retardants interrupt that arithmetic rather than cooling the polymer: hydrogen bromide, or antimony tribromide when antimony trioxide is present, scavenges the H· and OH· radicals and replaces them with the far less reactive bromine radical, which slows the chain enough for the flame to self-extinguish. This gas-phase route is one of the two mechanisms that all flame retardants for plastics use, the other being condensed-phase charring.

The flame-retardant action of TBBPA runs through 3 steps, listed below.

1. Bromine release as hydrogen bromide once the polymer decomposes, above the 200 to 300 °C (392 to 572 °F) range recorded for TBBPA.
2. Radical scavenging in the flame, where HBr or antimony tribromide captures the H· and OH· radicals that propagate combustion.
3. Formation of the less reactive bromine radical, which breaks the branching chain reaction and lets the flame extinguish.

No TBBPA-specific decomposition-onset or HBr-yield figure beyond that 200 to 300 °C range is recorded in our source library. Gas-phase and condensed-phase action are compared in full on how flame retardants work.

Reactive TBBPA vs additive TBBPA#

Reactive TBBPA is chemically bonded into the epoxy or polycarbonate backbone and is no longer a free molecule, while additive TBBPA stays dispersed in the compound and behaves like any other particulate flame retardant. The distinction between reactive and additive flame retardants decides how much free substance an article contains, and it is the reason TBBPA's SVHC listing lands differently on an FR-4 laminate than on an ABS housing.

Reactive flame retardants are chemically built into the polymer backbone, a group that includes TBBPA in FR-4 epoxy and in polycarbonate, DOPO in epoxy, and reactive phosphorus polyols in polyurethane, while additive flame retardants remain free molecules or particles that can migrate, leach or bloom out of the finished part over time. The Oeko-Institut RoHS restriction dossier on TBBPA reports that reactive use in FR-4 laminates leaves well below 0.1 % free TBBPA, because the bromine sits in the cured backbone rather than as unreacted starting material. ABS housings use the additive route instead, where TBBPA is compounded in as an unreacted particulate flame retardant alongside antimony trioxide.

Why antimony trioxide is used with additive TBBPA#

Antimony trioxide is added with additive brominated flame retardants because it converts the released hydrogen bromide into antimony oxybromide and volatile antimony tribromide, which carry the radical-scavenging action deeper into the flame. Antimony trioxide reacts with the hydrogen halide in a stepwise sequence, first forming antimony oxyhalide species and then the more volatile SbX3, giving the compound gas-phase radical inhibition that a bromine donor alone cannot match. Antimony trioxide is consumed as a flame-retardant synergist at about 25,000 tonnes a year in Europe and about 10,000 tonnes a year in the United States.

Antimony trioxide carries its own harmonised Carc. 2 classification and a Prop 65 cancer listing from 1 October 1990, so a TBBPA and antimony trioxide package brings two classified substances into the formulation rather than one. Antimony trioxide, CAS 1309-64-4, is not on the REACH Candidate List, and its harmonised CLP entry, index 051-005-00-X, is a separate hazard class from TBBPA's own Carc. 1B.

What Are the Physical and Chemical Properties of TBBPA?#

TBBPA is a white crystalline solid with a melting point of 178 °C (352.4 °F) and a density of 2.2 g/cm3, and commercial material is often yellowish rather than pure white. Table T2 lists the full set of recorded physical constants.

Table T2. TBBPA physical and chemical properties.

Our source library records a boiling point of about 316 °C (600.8 °F) alongside a decomposition range of 200 to 300 °C (392 to 572 °F), so the boiling point is a reference value rather than a processing figure. A compounder treats 200 °C as the practical onset of decomposition rather than waiting for the boiling point, since TBBPA breaks down well before it would boil. No bromine content figure, and no solubility, vapour pressure or log Kow value, is recorded for TBBPA in our source library, unlike DBDPE and other brominated flame retardants that carry a published bromine percentage.

Which Polymers Use TBBPA, and at What Loading?#

TBBPA is used in 3 polymer systems: epoxy laminates for printed circuit boards, polycarbonate and brominated epoxy oligomers, where it reacts into the backbone, and ABS housings, where it is compounded in as an additive. How much TBBPA does a compound contain? Our source library records no verified loading range for TBBPA in any polymer, only the residual free-TBBPA figure from the Oeko-Institut dossier for reactive FR-4 use, so Table T3 states "not recorded" rather than a number.

Table T3. TBBPA use and loading by polymer.

Footnote: loading values for TBBPA are not yet in our source library. We publish a number only when a primary source supports it.

TBBPA-based FR-4 formulations also use DOPO derivatives and ATH or boehmite fillers in the same laminate system, styrenics reach V-0 or 5VA with brominated flame retardants such as DBDPE, FR-245, brominated epoxy or additive TBBPA paired with antimony trioxide, and reactive use keeps free TBBPA well below 0.1 % of the laminate.

TBBPA in FR-4 epoxy laminates#

FR-4 is the laminate grade where TBBPA does most of its work: the TBBPA reacts with the epoxy resin, so the bromine sits in the cured backbone of a board that has to hold a UL 94 V-0 rating. The full FR-4 system pairs reactive TBBPA with DOPO derivatives and with ATH or boehmite fillers, and reactive incorporation is what keeps free TBBPA well below 0.1 % of the cured laminate, per the Oeko-Institut RoHS dossier. The full laminate package, including DOPO derivatives and boehmite, is on flame retardants for epoxy resins.

A halogen-free alternative to brominated FR-4 exists as a named standard, IEC 61249-2-21, though this page names the standard only and does not print its ppm limits, which are not yet verified against a primary source.

TBBPA in polycarbonate#

In polycarbonate, TBBPA is reacted into the chain to give a TBBPA copolycarbonate, a route our flame retardant dossier records as legacy rather than current practice, since today's PC and PC/ABS grades reach UL 94 V-0 with KSS, potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate, BDP or RDP plus PTFE. Current PC and PC/ABS systems are compared on flame retardants for polycarbonate.

TBBPA in ABS and HIPS housings#

In ABS and HIPS, TBBPA is used as an additive flame retardant together with antimony trioxide, the combination that takes styrenic housings to UL 94 V-0 or 5VA. Styrenics burn with heavy soot and no protective char, so the practical route to a vertical burn rating in ABS and HIPS is a brominated donor, which can be DBDPE, FR-245, brominated epoxy or additive TBBPA, dosed with antimony trioxide.

Since 1 March 2021, the EU Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 bans halogenated flame retardants in the enclosures and stands of electronic displays, a ban the EU General Court has upheld, which removes this application for TBBPA in that specific product group even where it remains usable elsewhere in ABS and HIPS. The bromine plus antimony systems used in styrenics are tabulated on flame retardants for ABS.

What Is TBBPA Used For? 6 Applications in Electronics and Plastics#

TBBPA is used in 6 plastics applications: FR-4 printed circuit board laminates, brominated epoxy oligomer production, polycarbonate, ABS housings, HIPS parts and PBT compounds that use TBBPA-derived oligomers. The 6 applications are listed below.

• FR-4 printed circuit board laminates, the largest reactive use.
• Brominated epoxy oligomer production, where TBBPA is the building block.
• Polycarbonate, as a legacy reactive copolycarbonate route.
• ABS housings, as an additive with antimony trioxide.
• HIPS parts, on the same additive route as ABS.
• PBT compounds, through TBBPA-derived brominated epoxy oligomers.

Textiles, paper and adhesive uses appear on some competing sources but sit outside this site's plastics-only scope and have no supporting record in our source library. Every one of these uses sits inside the EEE sector covered by flame retardants for electrical and electronic equipment.

How Is TBBPA Performance Measured? UL 94, LOI and Glow-Wire Tests#

UL 94 is the rating that decides whether a TBBPA-containing compound passes: V-0 requires each afterflame to stop within 10 seconds, a total of 50 seconds or less over 10 flame applications, afterglow within 30 seconds and no flaming drips that ignite the cotton below. Flame retardant performance is measured by UL 94 flammability ratings, the limiting oxygen index and glow-wire testing, not by the additive alone.

Table T4. TBBPA performance tests and criteria.

No LOI, cone calorimeter or UL 94 result for a TBBPA formulation is recorded in our source library, so this page names the methods and the criteria and publishes no TBBPA-specific performance value. UL 94 HF-1 and HF-2 afterflame times are not published on this page, because they are not verified in our sources. The oxygen concentration that just sustains burning is measured as the limiting oxygen index (LOI) to ISO 4589-2.

How Does TBBPA Interact with Synergists and Other Additives?#

TBBPA is formulated with synergists rather than alone in additive systems: antimony trioxide multiplies the gas-phase effect of the bromine, zinc borate reduces smoke and dripping, and PTFE suppresses flaming drips in styrenic and polycarbonate blends. The 3 additives most often paired with a brominated flame retardant are listed below.

• Antimony trioxide, the gas-phase synergist, consumed at about 25,000 t/y in Europe and about 10,000 t/y in the United States as a flame-retardant synergist.
• Zinc borate, used at 3 to 6 phr in PVC alongside ATH to reduce smoke and dripping, a PVC and ATH value rather than a TBBPA-specific ratio.
• PTFE, the anti-drip agent standard in polycarbonate and PC/ABS flame-retardant systems.

No TBBPA-specific synergist ratio is recorded in our source library beyond the antimony trioxide consumption figures above. Dosage ranges for flame retardant synergists by polymer are on the synergist page.

What Is the Regulatory Status of TBBPA?#

TBBPA is REACH-registered, has been on the REACH Candidate List as a Substance of Very High Concern since 17 January 2023, carries a harmonised Carc. 1B (H350) classification applicable since 1 September 2025, and is not restricted under REACH Annex XVII or RoHS (status 23 September 2026). Table T5 states each instrument, TBBPA's position and its date.

Table T5. TBBPA regulatory matrix, status 23 September 2026.

How these instruments fit together across jurisdictions is set out under flame retardant regulations.

Is TBBPA an SVHC, and what does the Candidate List require?#

Yes: TBBPA has been on the REACH Candidate List since 17 January 2023, listed as a carcinogen under Article 57(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. TBBPA joined the SVHC Candidate List on 17 January 2023, in the same batch as BTBPE, TBPH and melamine. The Candidate List held 253 entries as of its last update on 4 February 2026.

The 0.1 % threshold applies to each component article of a complex product, following the Court of Justice of the European Union's ruling in case C-106/14 of 10 September 2015, which is the practical reason the reactive and additive split matters here: the Oeko-Institut dossier reports that reactive use in FR-4 leaves well below 0.1 % free TBBPA, so a cured laminate and an ABS housing containing the same substance can land on opposite sides of that threshold. Candidate List inclusion triggers 4 duties, listed below.

• Article 33 communication to recipients, for an SVHC above 0.1 % w/w in an article, with consumer requests answered within 45 days.
• Article 7(2) notification to ECHA, for an SVHC above 0.1 % w/w and above 1 tonne per year per actor, within 6 months of inclusion.
• SCIP database notification, in force since 5 January 2021, for articles containing an SVHC above 0.1 % w/w.
• A safety data sheet on request, for mixtures containing 0.1 % or more of TBBPA.

Notification to the SCIP database has applied to articles containing an SVHC above 0.1 % since 5 January 2021, alongside the Article 33 and Article 7(2) duties above. Being on the Candidate List is an information duty, not a ban.

Is TBBPA carcinogenic? The harmonised Carc. 1B classification#

TBBPA carries a harmonised Carc. 1B (H350, may cause cancer) classification under the CLP Regulation, entry index 604-074-00-0, applicable since 1 September 2025 through the 21st ATP, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/197. The Risk Assessment Committee issued its supporting opinion in September 2021, and the classification also carries Aquatic Acute 1 (H400) and Aquatic Chronic 1 (H410).

A Carc. 1B classification above 0.1 % w/w triggers justification and labelling duties for invasive or fluid-contact medical devices under MDR (EU) 2017/745 Annex I, point 10.4, brings the substance inside the CMR ban of the Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 once that regulation applies generally from 1 August 2030, and makes TBBPA a "substance of concern" for the Digital Product Passport under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. How a harmonised classification propagates into other rules is explained under CLP classification of plastic additives. IARC classifies TBBPA in Group 2A, meaning probably carcinogenic to humans, a group description this page states without paraphrasing it into a stronger claim.

Is TBBPA restricted under RoHS?#

No: TBBPA is not listed in RoHS Annex II, and the Commission dropped the plan to add TBBPA and MCCP to that annex in 2024, moving the question to REACH instead. RoHS restricts ten substances per homogeneous material, including lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium and four phthalates at 0.1 % and cadmium at 0.01 %, and TBBPA has never been one of them.

The Annex II list and its 0.1 % homogeneous-material limits are set out on RoHS and plastic additives. The Ecodesign display-enclosure ban of 1 March 2021 still applies independently of RoHS, so a TBBPA-containing part can be RoHS compliant while remaining excluded from a specific product category by a different instrument.

What is the US status of TBBPA under TSCA and Proposition 65?#

The US EPA named TBBPA a high-priority substance under TSCA in December 2019 and released its draft risk evaluation on 12 June 2026. The risk-evaluation pipeline for additives is tracked on TSCA and plastic additives.

The draft, published in the Federal Register on 16 June 2026 under docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0462 with the comment period closing 17 August 2026, finds an unreasonable risk to workers from inhalation in 3 conditions of use and to the environment via surface water in 2 conditions of use, and it finds no unreasonable risk to consumers or the general population. The final evaluation is pending, and EPA has not restricted or banned TBBPA under this draft.

California addresses TBBPA through Proposition 65. TBBPA has been listed for cancer under the Labor Code mechanism since 27 October 2017, the fourth of five flame retardant cancer listings on that list in order: antimony oxide on 1 October 1990, TCEP on 1 April 1992, TDCPP on 28 October 2011, TBBPA on 27 October 2017 and molybdenum trioxide on 19 March 2021. Listing dates for all flame retardants are on California Proposition 65.

Which US states restrict TBBPA? California, Washington and New York#

Three US states reach TBBPA through class-wide rules rather than by naming it: California bans halogenated flame retardants above 1,000 ppm in juvenile products, mattresses and upholstered furniture from 1 January 2020, New York bans organohalogen flame retardants in electronic display enclosures and stands from 1 January 2024, and Washington regulates organohalogen flame retardants in children's products and in electric and electronic casings. The three state rules are listed below.

• California, AB 2998: halogenated and organophosphorus flame retardants above 1,000 ppm banned in juvenile products, mattresses and upholstered furniture, from 1 January 2020.
• New York: organohalogen flame retardants banned in electronic display enclosures and stands, from 1 January 2024.
• Washington: PBDEs banned in 2011 under RCW 70A.405.020, five organohalogen flame retardants banned in children's products and upholstered furniture in 2016, and a Safer Products rule covering organohalogen flame retardants in electric and electronic product casings since 2023, without naming the five substances in the record this page draws from.

The full state-by-state picture is on US state laws on plastic additives.

Is TBBPA Safe? Health and Environmental Profile#

TBBPA carries three harmonised hazard statements under the CLP Regulation: H350 (may cause cancer), H400 (very toxic to aquatic life) and H410 (very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects). These are formal classification outcomes, not opinions, and each carries the date given earlier on this page.

The assessment landscape draws on three bodies. IARC places TBBPA in Group 2A, meaning probably carcinogenic to humans. EFSA published an updated scientific opinion on TBBPA and its derivatives in food in 2024. And the US EPA's 2026 draft TSCA risk evaluation concludes unreasonable risk to workers and to the environment in specific conditions of use, while finding no unreasonable risk to consumers or the general population, a conclusion that splits occupational and environmental exposure from consumer exposure rather than treating TBBPA as a single uniform risk.

The exposure picture follows from the reactive and additive split described earlier on this page: bound TBBPA in a cured FR-4 laminate is not a free molecule and stays below 0.1 % of the article, while additive TBBPA in an ABS housing remains a dispersed particle, which is one reason occupational handling and end-of-life exposure dominate the assessments above rather than use of the finished product. Exposure routes and the study landscape are covered on flame retardants and human health.

What Are the Alternatives to TBBPA?#

The 4 main alternatives to TBBPA are DOPO for epoxy laminates, brominated epoxy oligomers and brominated polystyrene for polymeric bromine, DBDPE for styrenics, and aluminium diethylphosphinate for halogen-free engineering thermoplastics. Table T6 compares the five flame retardants on identity, class and regulatory status.

Table T6. TBBPA and its alternatives compared.

Footnote: blank CLP cells mean no harmonised entry is recorded in our source library, not that a substance is unclassified.

Match a flame retardant to your polymer and target rating with the flame retardant selector by polymer and UL 94 rating.

TBBPA vs DOPO in epoxy laminates#

DOPO is the halogen-free route for the same job: it is reacted into the epoxy just as TBBPA is, but it works through phosphorus radicals and char instead of bromine, and research formulations reach UL 94 V-0 at about 1 to 1.2 wt% phosphorus. DOPO is registered under REACH and is not on the Candidate List, and as the neutral H-phosphinate it carries CAS 35948-25-5, formula C12H9O2P and molecular weight 216.17 g/mol.

DOPO acts through gas-phase PO· radical activity combined with condensed-phase char, and it is usually reacted into the epoxy resin, mirroring TBBPA's own reactive route into the same laminate family. In research formulations, recent DOPO derivatives reach V-0 at 0.25 to 1.2 wt% phosphorus, a range from peer-reviewed studies rather than a commercial specification. IEC 61249-2-21 is the halogen-free laminate standard that a DOPO-based FR-4 system targets, named here without its ppm limits.

TBBPA vs brominated epoxy oligomers and brominated polystyrene#

Brominated epoxy oligomers are made from TBBPA but behave differently in law: they are polymeric, and the EU restriction now being prepared for aromatic brominated flame retardants covers only non-polymeric substances. Brominated epoxy oligomers are polymeric, which keeps them outside the scope of the ABFR restriction now being prepared, and the substance itself, CAS 68928-70-1, ECHA list number 614-817-0, is not on the Candidate List and serves PBT, ABS and HIPS as well as epoxy.

Because the restriction ECHA is preparing targets non-polymeric aromatic brominated flame retardants only, a compounder who switches from reactive TBBPA to a TBBPA-derived brominated epoxy oligomer moves the bromine into a polymeric structure that sits outside that particular regulatory track, even though the underlying chemistry is related.

Brominated polystyrene is the other polymeric bromine route for engineering thermoplastics, used mainly in glass-filled polyamide and PBT rather than in the epoxy and styrenic systems where TBBPA itself is used.

TBBPA vs DBDPE in styrenics#

DBDPE is the additive brominated flame retardant that competes with TBBPA in styrenic housings, and it carries a heavier regulatory load: it joined the Candidate List on 5 November 2025 as a vPvB substance and is one of the three substances named in the EU's restriction mandate for non-polymeric aromatic brominated flame retardants. DBDPE joined the Candidate List on 5 November 2025 as a vPvB substance and is not restricted yet, which puts it and additive TBBPA on different points of the same regulatory track.

The 10.7 wt% bromine and 5 wt% antimony trioxide figure that reaches UL 94 V-0 in HIPS is a DBDPE data-sheet value, not a TBBPA loading, and this page does not transfer it to TBBPA.

Halogen-free alternatives: aluminium diethylphosphinate and phosphorus systems#

Aluminium diethylphosphinate is the halogen-free standard for engineering thermoplastics: at about 15 wt% it reaches UL 94 V-0 at 0.8 mm in high-temperature polyamide, and it is not on the Candidate List. Halogen-free flame retardants replace TBBPA's bromine chemistry with phosphorus, nitrogen or mineral routes, and aluminium diethylphosphinate (AlPi, DEPAL, CAS 225789-38-8, EC 428-310-5, molecular weight 390.27 g/mol) is the best documented of them, carrying 23.3 to 24.0 wt% phosphorus and decomposing above 300 °C.

At about 15 wt% (Exolit OP 1230), AlPi reaches UL 94 V-0 at 1.6 and 0.8 mm in PA 6T/66, and at 15 to 20 wt% (Exolit OP 1312) in glass-filled PA6 and PA66, and research formulations in ABS combine ammonium polyphosphate with AlPi at 20 wt%, a research result rather than a commercial recipe. The EU FP7 ENFIRO project (grant 226563), concluded in 2012, found good environmental and health profiles for ammonium polyphosphate, DEPAL, aluminium trihydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, melamine polyphosphate, DOPO, zinc stannate and zinc hydroxystannate, while recording that RDP and BDP in styrenics gave more smoke than the systems they replaced.

Aluminium diethylphosphinate is the entry point for the full phosphinate and mineral halogen-free family, carrying 23.3 to 24.0 wt% phosphorus and decomposing above 300 °C, and its dosage and processing data sit alongside the other engineering-thermoplastic routes on that page.

Who Manufactures TBBPA? Grades and Suppliers#

TBBPA is produced by the bromine-based flame retardant makers, and the three our supplier research names as the bromine flame retardant producers are Albemarle, ICL and Lanxess. USGS names the same three companies as the leading bromine-based flame retardant producers.

Table T7. TBBPA producers.

Footnote: we list the producers our research confirms for bromine flame retardants. TBBPA-specific grade names are not yet in our source library.

Locations, certifications and product ranges are in the directory of flame retardant manufacturers and suppliers. Buyers should ask the supplier for the TDS, the SDS, the CLP label and a statement of whether the grade is intended for reactive or additive use.

How Does TBBPA Fit into the Brominated Flame Retardant Family?#

TBBPA belongs to the aromatic, non-polymeric brominated flame retardants, the sub-group that has absorbed almost every EU restriction of the last 15 years, from HBCD in 2008 to DBDPE in 2025. Every EU restriction of the last 15 years has landed inside the brominated flame retardant family: the REACH Candidate List added HBCD on 28 October 2008, TCEP on 13 January 2010, decaBDE on 19 December 2012, Dechlorane Plus on 15 January 2018, PFBS and its salts on 16 January 2020, MCCP in July 2021, then TBBPA together with melamine, TBPH and BTBPE on 17 January 2023, TPP on 7 November 2024, and DBDPE on 5 November 2025.

The EU restriction on aromatic brominated flame retardants#

ECHA is preparing a REACH restriction on non-polymeric aromatic brominated flame retardants, working from a Commission mandate of 11 November 2025 towards a draft Annex XV dossier planned for December 2026. Scope, timeline and status are tracked on the EU restriction of aromatic brominated flame retardants. The call for evidence ran from 21 January to 18 March 2026, and the named mandated Substances of Very High Concern are DBDPE, TBPH and BTBPE, alongside 19 further aromatic brominated flame retardants under interim PBT or vPvB assessment, with a broader option that would cover 24 non-polymeric substances across electrical and electronic equipment, construction products and textiles. Polymeric brominated flame retardants stay outside the scope.

The ECHA investigation report of 18 December 2024 counted about 60 aromatic brominated flame retardants potentially on the EU market, 25 of them registered, more than 40 assessed as PBT, vPvB or likely so, and identified no alternatives for aerospace uses, certain sealants and adhesives, and transparent polycarbonate. Whether TBBPA itself is one of the 19 or 24 further substances in that screening group is not itemised in the published documents. That preparation follows the ECHA flame retardant regulatory strategy of March 2023, which named aromatic brominated flame retardants as restriction candidates.

The timeline runs in 3 stages, listed below.

1. Commission mandate to ECHA, 11 November 2025.
2. Call for evidence, 21 January to 18 March 2026.
3. Draft Annex XV restriction dossier, planned December 2026.

TBBPA in e-waste and plastics recycling#

Bromine leaves an electronic product the way it entered it: the USGS notes that brominated flame retardants are stable enough that the bromine is usually recycled together with the parent polymer rather than separated from it. USGS also records that ATH, MDH, organic chlorine and phosphorus compounds substitute for bromine flame retardants in some uses when a recycler or a converter wants to avoid that stability.

TBBPA's SVHC status puts it into the SCIP database for articles above 0.1 % w/w, the data trail a recycler reads when sorting streams that may contain an SVHC. How flame retardants change a stream's recyclability is covered under design for recycling. No TBBPA concentration, e-waste measurement or recycling limit is recorded in our source library, so this section stays qualitative.

TBBPA trade and the flame retardant market: HS code and bromine supply#

TBBPA enters the United States under HTS code 2908.19.2500 at a 5.5 % ad valorem duty, and its raw material comes from a concentrated bromine supply: Israel produced 140,000 tonnes of the roughly 400,000 tonnes made outside the United States in 2024. The US bromine import unit value was USD 2.70 per kilogram in 2024, with 83 % of imports from Israel, 9 % from Jordan and 3 % from China. TBBPA's own EU consumption was recorded at 6,200 tonnes in 2004, a figure from 2004 that this page does not round forward or treat as current.

Bromine supply concentration is one of the risks tracked on flame retardants market, and analyst estimates put the global flame retardant market at USD 8.1 billion to 9.3 billion in 2025, a spread wide enough to publish as a range.

Is TBBPA banned anywhere?#

No jurisdiction covered on this page bans TBBPA by name, but three class-wide rules reach it: the EU Ecodesign ban on halogenated flame retardants in electronic display enclosures and stands since 1 March 2021, California's AB 2998 limit of 1,000 ppm in juvenile products, mattresses and upholstered furniture since 1 January 2020, and New York's ban on organohalogen flame retardants in electronic display enclosures since 1 January 2024 (status 23 September 2026). Being on the SVHC Candidate List is not a ban; it is an information duty that triggers communication and notification obligations rather than removing TBBPA from the market.

Does TBBPA need a safety data sheet?#

Yes: TBBPA carries a harmonised Carc. 1B classification, so suppliers provide a CLP-compliant safety data sheet, and a mixture containing 0.1 % or more of a Candidate List substance requires an SDS on request even when the mixture itself is not classified. What a CLP-compliant sheet must contain is set out on safety data sheets and GHS labels.

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