Why Aren't We Hearing More About Flame Retardants?

Earlier this month, investigative reporter Sheila Kaplan published a ground-breaking, must-read story over on Salon called "The Poisoned Crib: When Protective Chemicals Harm."

Kaplan delves deep into the host of health problems associated with PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), a class of chemicals applied to consumer goods like mattresses, sofas, and baby strollers to make them more fire-proof. Trouble is, PBDEs don't stay where manufacturers put them and are now found in the bloodstreams of 97 percent of Americans. From there, research shows the chemicals can act as neurotoxins and interfere with fertility. A recent study out of the University of California-Berkeley found that women with an elevated level of PBDEs had shorter menstrual cycles and were 30 percent less likely to become pregnant than women with lower levels. Meanwhile, a Columbia University study showed that children who had the highest levels of flame retardants in their umbilical cord blood scored lowest on tests of mental and physical development.

Even more troubling is the fact that PBDEs accumulate in our bodies long-term, unlike say, BPA, which, thanks to its short half-life can actually be flushed out of your system in a few days once you remove all exposures.

I zeroed in on Kaplan's closing quote:

"Parents hear so much about cadmium and lead and BPA and phthalates," said [Heather Stapleton, a Duke University researcher who discovered high amounts of both old chemical flame retardants and new substitutes in baby products]. "You can walk into a store and buy phthalate-free. But you can't walk into a store and buy anything flame retardant-free."

Why is that? One explanation is that making children's products flame-resistant is an important safety measure, which limits options and gives the chemical industry a lot of lobbying power. But using a known neurotoxin to do this seems a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face — especially when goods like strollers and kids' PJs aren't known for much spontaneous combustion.

And when companies react to public outcry, they often focus more on putting out the current fire than on long-term solutions. Manufacturers have agreed to phase out the most commonly used flame retardant (Deca-DBE) by 2013, but health advocates and scientists say they have no idea whether its replacement will be any better.

If you'd like to see more regulation on PBDEs (and chemicals in consumer goods in general), join the I Am Not A Guinea Pig campaign, which is lobbying to replace the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 with the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010, which would require better safety testing on chemicals like PBDEs that currently in use and on potential replacements — before they hit store shelves. You can write to your senators, stay updated on their Facebook page, and tweet important facts about the risks of using unsafe and untested chemicals.

In the meantime, if you're shopping for new furniture, check out the Q Collection, which gets Enviroblog's seal of approval for being free of flame retardants and other toxins, plus made from sustainably harvested wood and organic cotton. We love that.