Several American mothers nursing their infants had high levels of
potentially toxic flame retardant chemicals in their breastmilk, according
to a US environmental group.

While the study by the Environmental Working Group was small and did not
show any health effects in the babies, the group said it showed just how
widespread the chemicals are.

The chemicals are bromine-based fire retardants and are used in a wide range
of products including furniture, computers, television sets, automobiles,
copy machines and hair dryers to make them less likely to catch fire.

They can build up in the body over years.

"Brominated fire retardants impair attention, learning, memory, and
behaviour in laboratory animals at surprisingly low levels," the EWG report
reads.

"The most sensitive time for toxic effects is during periods of rapid brain
development."

The EWG, a non-profit group that has publicised the presence of many
different chemicals in products and the environment, tested the breast milk
of 20 first-time mothers across the country, including Washington, DC,
Evergreen, Colorado, and Los Angeles.

"The average level of bromine-based fire retardants in the milk of 20
first-time mothers was 75 times the average found in recent European
studies," the report reads.

"Milk from two study participants contained the highest levels of fire
retardants ever reported in the United States, and milk from several of the
mothers in EWG's study had among the highest levels of these chemicals yet
detected worldwide.

"These results confirm recently published findings from University of Texas
researchers, as well as other US studies, that American babies are exposed
to far higher amounts of fire retardants than babies in Europe, where some
of these chemicals have already been banned," the EWG said.

"In the United States, only California and Maine have acted to restrict the
use of these chemicals."

The group stressed that women should not stop breastfeeding.

No study links intake of the chemicals from breastmilk with any problems in
children.

Any health effects probably take place while the children are still in the
womb, the group said.

Albemarle Corp. of Richmond, Virginia, one of the companies that makes the
flame-retardant chemicals, said it was working to find out if the chemicals
are dangerous.

"As an industry group and as a company we are working with just about any
and every scientific group that is doing long-term studies on the safety of
these products," spokesman Michael Whitlow said.