Flame retardant ban may not reach Texas this year

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Scott Streater
Published January 16, 2007

The state of Washington is set to ban a certain type of chemical flame retardant in widespread use across the country, the first in the nation to do so. Some environmentalists say this could spark efforts by other states to ban the flame retardants found in many common household products and routinely measured in people's bodies, where some researchers suspect they cause reproductive and neurological problems, disrupt hormonal balance and increase the risk of cancer. But don't expect Texas to follow suit this legislative session. "I can say pretty definitively the answer is no," said Ken Kramer, state director of the Sierra Club in Austin. "It's not even on the radar screen." The state Legislature in Washington is moving forward on a bill that would ban the three most commonly used commercial chemical flame retardants, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. The bill could receive final approval this month. Safety tradeoff The proposed ban is the latest in a growing debate over whether the chemical flame retardants cause more harm than good. They are used in carpet padding, television sets and computer wire insulation, mattress stuffing, waterproof jackets and many other products because they help prevent the spread of fire. "It's a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have the very obvious risk of fire injury, which these things do help prevent," said Jonathan Ward, a toxicologist and the director of the division of environmental toxicology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. On the other hand, there's growing evidence they cause harm. The most widely used of the commercial PBDEs -- which are used mostly in television sets and computers -- is listed by the federal government as a possible human cancer-causing agent. What's more, the chemicals stay in the body and the environment for years. "We certainly have reason to be concerned about them," Ward said. "You don't want to continue to put something out there that will continue to accumulate if it's going to do harm." A Star-Telegram project last year found the chemical flame retardants may be common in local residents' bodies. Working with a consultant from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas, the Star-Telegram paid to have blood samples from 12 Tarrant County residents analyzed for 83 toxic chemicals, including 15 of the most commonly used PBDEs. The analysis found low levels of 14 of the PBDEs in the study participants. The Star-Telegram analysis mirrored national studies that indicate most Americans have these chemical flame retardants in their bodies. No one is sure what levels might lead to health problems. But once in the body, they stay there for years. Scientists have found that PBDEs can pass from a woman to her baby through breast milk. Dr. Arnold Schecter, a public-health physician at the School of Public Health, led a study that found PBDEs in the breast milk of 47 women in Dallas and Austin. He also led a 2004 study in which researchers found flame retardants in the fatty tissues of fish and meat and in dairy products being sold by three major supermarket chains in Dallas. These and other studies have prompted U.S. manufacturers to voluntarily halt production of two of the most toxic brominated flame retardants, but not the one most widely used. Many companies that sell products containing brominated flame retardants, including Ford, Dell and IBM, have found alternatives. Dr. Anila Jacob, a physician and senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, said what's really needed is federal legislation banning the brominated flame retardants. "We've been recommending the federal government phase out the three over the last three years," she said. FACTS ABOUT PBDEs What are Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)? Synthetic chemicals that help prevent the spread of fire by impeding the chemical reaction that causes it. PBDEs are commonly found in polyurethane foam products, such as the padding in furniture, as well as in textiles, television sets and computers. But they can also be found in food and household dust. They have been measured in the bodies of virtually every American who has been tested. What are the possible health effects? The main concern is that PBDEs build up in the body over long periods of time. Data on how PBDEs affect humans are scarce, and no one knows what levels trigger health problems. But animal studies have shown that PBDEs harm the nervous system and alter hormonal functions and the development of reproductive organs. Industry officials say the levels in people and the environment are too low to cause problems.