News Coverage
Study adds to findings of fire retardants in breast milk
Published September 22, 2003
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Chemicals used as fire retardants were found in the breast milk of each of 20 women tested nationally, and two of the women had the highest levels ever recorded in the United States, a study released Tuesday shows.
The study by the Environmental Working Group backs previous studies that show American women have the world's highest levels of the bromine-based fire retardants, nearing levels that have been shown to damage learning, memory and behavior in laboratory mice.
PBDEs - polybrominated diphenyl ethers - are commonly used in upholstery, electronics and other foam and plastic products.
The chemicals remain in the environment for years and build up in the body over a lifetime, similarly to PCBs and DDT banned decades ago in the United States.
In March, California researchers reported that Bay Area women have three to 10 times greater amounts of the chemical flame retardant in their breast tissue than either European or Japanese women. Indiana University researchers reported at the same time that levels in Indiana and California women and infants tested 20 times higher than levels reported in Sweden and Norway, where the ban is set to take effect this year.
A study in 2001 found North American mothers had breast-milk PBDE levels at least 40 times the highest concentrations found in Sweden. And in 1998, Swedish scientists reported levels of PBDE in breast milk had increased 40-fold since 1972.
In July, the Environmental Working Group reported finding rapidly rising levels of PBDEs in fish in San Francisco Bay since 1997.
Tuesday's study by the same group found the average level in the milk of the first-time mothers was 75 times the average found in recent European studies.
Women involved in the test were from California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia. Mothers from Oregon and Missouri had the highest chemical concentrations.
Peter O'Toole, spokesman for the industry's Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, criticized the small sample size. Environmental Working Group spokeswoman Lauren Sucher said the nonprofit group couldn't afford a more comprehensive study, but that the sample size and results are similar to other studies.
O'Toole noted that researchers have confirmed little risk to children from one form of the chemical, decabromodiphenyl ethers (deca BDEs), commonly used in televisions, computers, stereos, and plastic toys.
Environmental Working Group researchers criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not banning or restricting use of the chemicals nationally. The U.S. EPA is reviewing manufacturers' toxicity studies, with a decision expected by year's end to seek more study; to ask for voluntary restrictions; or to ban use of the chemicals.
Despite the increased evidence of BPDE contamination, the researchers noted that "breast-feeding remains the single most important choice mothers can make for the health of their babies, offering innumerable benefits to mother and child." Fetal exposure appears to be the biggest problem, and breast milk, while a good indicator of fetal exposure, may actually help overcome some of the harmful effects, the researchers said.
Officials with the industry's Bromine Science and Environmental Forum did not immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press.