Your home is filled with toxic flame retardants
(NaturalNews) Two new studies published in the journal
Environmental Science & Technology confirm
that the average home is filled with toxic flame retardant chemicals
that may cause anything from cancer to hormonal problems to birth
defects.
In the first study, researchers from the
Silent Spring Institute and the
University of Antwerp,
Belgium, tested the dust of 16 California homes in both 2006 and 2011
for the presence of 49 separate flame retardant chemicals. Although
flame retardants typically enter the home in furniture, textiles,
electronics and other such products, dust is the primary route of human
exposure.
The tests were performed in California due to that
state's strict fire safety standards for household products. Because
companies want to be able to sell to the California market, the majority
of products sold in the U.S. are now manufactured to meet those
standards.
"Our study found that people are exposed to toxic
flame retardants every day," co-author Robin Dodson said. "These
hazardous chemicals are in the air we breathe, the dust we touch and the
couches we sit on."
Toxic chemicals prevalentThe
researchers found 44 of the 49 chemicals in at least one home. At least
50 percent of all samples taken contained at least one of 36 specific
chemicals. The majority of homes had levels of at least one chemical in
excess of federal safety standards.
The vast majority of flame
retardant chemicals have never undergone safety testing, and so there
are no established exposure thresholds. However, the researchers found
five
chemicals at levels exceeding federal standards: BDE 47, BDE 99, TCEP, TDCIPP and BB 153.
TCEP
and TDCIPP (also known as chlorinated Tris) belong to the group of
chemicals known as chlorinated organophosphates, and it was these that
were found in highest levels. Both are known carcinogens. A related
chemical,
TDBPP (brominated Tris) was banned from children's pajamas in 1977
because it is known to damage DNA and cause mammary (breast) tumors in
animals. It continues to be used in other products; however, and the
researchers found it in 75 percent of all homes in the 2011 tests.
In the second study, researchers from
Duke University tested 102 samples of polyurethane foam from couches purchased for U.S. residential use between 1985 and 2010.
More than 50 percent contained
flame retardants that were either known to be harmful or that had never been safety
tested. 41 percent contained Tris. Another 17 percent contained
pentaBDE, which was voluntarily phased out in the United States in 2005
due to its damaging effects on thyroid regulation and brain and fetal
development. Like many other flame retardants, pentaBDE accumulates in
human tissues and the environment.
Yet, pentaBDE and other banned or discontinued flame retardants are often replaced by chemicals that are just as harmful.
"It's
not comforting to swap one hazardous chemical for its evil cousin,"
said Julia Brody, co-author of the Silent Spring study."Instead, we
should test chemicals before they are allowed on the market."
Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/040083_flame_retardants_toxic_chemicals_home.html