Detroit News, Jennifer Chambers
Published September 21, 2008
Scan your home: If you own a TV, computer, mattress or couch, then
flame retardants are a part of your life and may be an unwelcome
visitor in your bloodstream, too.
Nearly all Americans tested have trace levels of flame retardants --
chemical materials that resist the spread of fire -- in their system.
But the first nationwide study of the chemical in children and their
parents released this month found that toddlers and preschoolers had
three times more of the compound -- polybrominated diphenyl ethers,
known as PBDEs -- in their bodies as their mothers.
Findings by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group are
bolstering calls by Michigan health and environmental organizations to
pass legislation pending in the Michigan House that proposes banning
deca-PBDE -- one of three types of PBDEs -- in furniture, mattresses
and electronics. Penta- and octa-PBDE have already been banned in the
United States.
Donele Wilkins of Detroit learned she and her 17-year-old son had
elevated levels of PBDE's in their blood system, after the pair
participated in 2007 study through the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor.
"I said 'I don't have flame retardant material in my house. Where did
it come from?'" Wilkins, of Detroiters Working for Environmental
Justice, said. "From the study, I learned I do have things in the
house: The couch I purchased contained certain toxins. The pillows
contained certain materials."
PBDES have been in widespread use in the United States since the
1970s, but there is growing concern about their persistence in the
environment and their tendency to bioaccumulate in the food chain, EPA
officials said. In addition to humans, the substance has been found in
surface water, fish, sediments, air and breast milk.
There are no human studies on the effects of flame retardants. In
April, the EPA classified deca-BDE as a possible human carcinogen and
says that some PBDEs may act as thyroid disruptors in humans and other
animals and that exposure in rats and mice affected brain development.
Yet the American Council on Science and Health, a New York-based
consumer education consortium, defends the use of brominated flame
retardants and says the EWG study provides no credible evidence that
the chemical represents a danger to humans or the environment.
Spokesman Jeff Stier said flame retardants give people more time to
escape a fire by delaying flashover, the explosive-like eruption of
flames responsible for most of the fatalities and property damage in
residential fires. Current evidence shows that the benefits of PBDE
flame retardants, in terms of lives saved and injuries prevented, far
outweigh any demonstrated or likely negative health effects from their
use, Stier said.
"The question is -- what is the potential health effect? Just because
you can measure something doesn't mean it's harmful," Stier said. "My
concern is they are playing on people's fears that just because there
is a presence there is a harmful effect. There is no science that
proves that."
Laboratory tests from the study of 20 U.S. families found that average
levels of deca-PBDE, which is banned in Europe but not in the United
States, were about 62 parts per billion in children compared to 25 ppb
in their mothers. There are no federal standards or guidelines for
PBDEs because the EPA continues to evaluate and assess its risks.
Youngsters ingest more fire retardants because they spend so much time
on the floor where the compound sits in dust and because they stick
their hands and objects like toys -- which collect the dust -- in
their mouth, said Gen Howe, environmental health campaign director for
the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor.
"It's extremely important act on the legislation. The chemical is
ubiquitous in offices and schools and homes. Michigan can't wait for
the federal government to act," Howe said. "These exposures to our
young, vulnerable kids are unnecessary and unacceptable. These
chemical have neurotoxic effect that can be life long."
The pending state House bill has the support of the American Academy
of Pediatrics and the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union and
the Michigan Association of Fire chiefs.
William Nelson, past president of the MAFC, said flame retardants save
lives but now they come with unintended consequences for the public
and first responders who bear the brunt of severe exposures.
"When we go into a fire, we are totally protected with the self-
contained breathing apparatus, but when you take off the gear you can
be re-exposed to this chemical," Nelson said. "There are enough
alternatives to these without hampering flame retardant safety."
The entire study can be found at
www.ewg.org.
You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (248) 647-7402 or
jchambers@detnews.com
