It was added to Annex A of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2017,[5][6] which means that treaty members must take measures to eliminate its production and use.

The plastics industry started switching to decabromodiphenyl ethane as an alternative in the 1990s, but this is now also coming under regulatory pressure due to concerns over human health.

The chemical "is always used in conjunction with antimony trioxide" in polymers, mainly in "high impact polystyrene (HIPS) which is used in the television industry for cabinet backs.

[11][12] As stated in a 2006 review, "Deca-BDE has long been characterized as an environmentally stable and inert product that was not capable of degradation in the environment, not toxic, and therefore of no concern.

"[7] In September 2004 an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) report asserted that "DecaBDE seems to be largely resistant to environmental degradation.

"[23] In September 2010, the UK Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances issued an opinion that ‘there is strong but incomplete, scientific evidence indicating that Deca-BDE has the potential to undergo transformation to lower brominated congeners in the environment'.

[28] A 2004 investigation carried out by the WWF detected decaBDE in blood samples from 3 of 14 ministers of health and environment of European Union countries, while (for example) PBDE-153 was found in all 14.

Animal studies indicate that commercial decaBDE mixtures are generally much less toxic than the products containing lower brominated PBDEs.

[30] ATSDR stated in 2004 "We don’t know if PBDEs can cause cancer in people, although liver tumors developed in rats and mice that ate extremely large amounts of decaBDE throughout their lifetime.

On the basis of evidence for cancer in animals, decaBDE is classified as a possible human carcinogen by EPA [i.e., the United States Environmental Protection Agency ].

"[32] EPA has determined that daily Deca exposures should be less than 7 μg/kg-d (micrograms per kilogram bodyweight per day) to minimize the chance of brain and nervous system toxicity.

"[30] A 2007 study in mice "suggest[ed] that decaBDE is a developmental neurotoxicant that can produce long-term behavioral changes following a discrete period of neonatal exposure.

"[35] In 2002–2003 the American Chemistry Council's Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel, citing an unpublished 1997 study, estimated that 280 deaths due to fires are prevented each year in the U.S. because of the use of decaBDE.

"[36] A 2006 study concluded "current levels of Deca in the United States are unlikely to represent an adverse health risk for children.

The UK's Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (ACHS) presented their conclusions following a review of the emerging studies on Deca-BDE on 14 September 2010.

[46] This EU process is running in parallel with a UNEP review to determine whether Deca-BDE should be listed as a Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) under the Stockholm Convention.

"[49][50] As of 2007, other states considering restrictions on decaBDE include California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,[51] Montana, New York, and Oregon.