Laboratory tests conducted for the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by one of the worlds leading scientific authorities on fire retardants found that in 19 of 20 U.S.

PBDEs and other toxic chemicals are widely used to prevent the spread of fire and are likely to be found in dozens of products in your home, from the padding below your carpet, to your bed, couch or television screen. They are most commonly found in polyurethane foam products and electronics.

In thehe first investigation of toxic fire retardants in parents and their children, EWG found that toddlers and preschoolers typically had 3 times as much of these hormone-disrupting chemicals in their blood as their mothers.

In the first nationwide tests for chemical fire retardants in the breast milk of American women, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found unexpectedly high levels of these little-known neurotoxic chemicals in every participant tested. The average level of brominated-based fire retardants in the milk of 20 first-time mothers was 75 times the average found in recent European studies.

Two powerful chairmen of the House committee that oversees the EPA are launching an investigation into the chemical industry’s undue influence on Agency panels that recommend critical public health safeguards for chemical pollutants. The inquiry stems from documents released recently by EWG showing that the EPA sacked a respected public health scientist from the Maine Centers for Disease Control as a panel chair, at the request of the chemical industry lobby group the American Chemistry Council.

Under pressure from chemical industry lobbyists, the Bush Administration fired the chair of an expert science panel at the Environmental Protection Agency that was evaluating the safety of a neurotoxic fire retardant, according to documents obtained by EWG. EPA is to issue by March 28th a reassessment of the human health risks from Deca, an industrial fire retardant used in electronics and other consumer products, and widely found in Americans’ blood and breast milk.

According to Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a man claiming to represent the Fallen Firefighters Foundation gave testimony against a PBDE bill. It was revealed that he worked for Ameribrom, a PBDE manufacturer. Shameless!

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that exposure to carpeting and other materials in the workplace significantly increases adults' risk of developing asthma. Carpet contains over 100 known toxins including benzene, formaldehyde, and flame-retardants. Added features like stain resistance increase the number of toxins.
[ via : Reuters ]

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