THE BABBLE TAKE
Like many newfangled inventions that initially seem to take us one step closer to conquering nature, flame retardants turned out not to be everything they were cracked up to be. More specifically, PBDEs, a class of flame-retardant chemicals used in couches, mattresses, TVs and computer monitors, have been found to accumulate in breast milk at dangerous levels. PBDEs have been linked to the disruption of brain and sexual development. Scientists have called the toxic threat posed by PBDEs unparalleled since DDT and PCBs were outlawed in the '70s. In 2004, PBDEs were banned in the European Union; studies show levels found in the breast milk of European nursing mothers have since declined. The United States has yet to follow suit (save California, where certain PBDEs will be banned in 2008). So what should you do about the doubtlessly large amounts of PBDEs already present in your prized pieces of furniture? Even the die-hard authors of The Complete Organic Pregnancy say not to throw anything out. Instead, they suggest preventative measures like covering a couch treated with flame retardants with a thick cotton cover.
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L.A. Times
"Flame retardants, already linked to effects on the brain, can also alter sex hormones, reducing male fertility and disrupting ovary development, according to scientific studies to be released this week. […] About 100 new studies [show] the contaminants, which accumulate in breast milk […] are a greater threat to children and fetuses than earlier research indicated."...read the full article
Environmental Working Group
"In the first nationwide tests for chemical fire retardants in the breast milk of American mothers, Environmental Working Group (EWG) found unexpectedly high levels of these little-known thyroid toxins in every woman tested. Milk from several of the mothers in EWG’s study had among the highest levels of these chemicals yet detected worldwide."
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Priorities for a Healthy Washington
"Common household products such as televisions, computer, furniture, and carpeting needlessly expose our children to chemicals known as toxic flame retardants or PBDEs. Very similar to the now banned PCBs, these chemicals leach out of products and are rapidly increasing in mother’s milk, orca whales, and our bodies. "
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National Institutes of Health
"Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of recalcitrant and bioaccumulative halogenated compounds that have emerged as a major environmental pollutant. PBDEs are used as a flame-retardant and are found in consumer goods such as electrical equipment, construction materials, coatings, textiles and polyurethane foam (furniture padding)."...read the full article
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"Furniture"
Considered the new PCBs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers are a group of brominated flame retardants used in lots of products, including the foam in couches and mattresses, and plastic TV and computer monitors (Dell and HP, among others, have banned them). One of the reasons PBDEs are so hard to avoid is that they're not bound to the molecules in materials, so toxic residue can escape in the form of dust. Most kinds of PBDEs have been banned in Europe since 2004, and American women carry ten to seventy times as many PBDEs in their breast milk, tissues, and blood as Europeans do. Exposure to PBDEs during fetal development can negatively affect how the brain functions.
By this point in your life you've probably spent years collecting pieces of furniture that you like and are hardly prepared to throw them all out because they're made of the wrong materials. We're not suggesting you do. IF you're thinking about replacing an expensive item like a living room couch because you're worried about PBDEs in the foam cushions, our advice is don't. In fact, The Green Guide editor, Mindy Pennybacker, says that when she couldn't afford an organic cotton couch, she covered hers with a thick layer of natrual cotton instead. "I don't think people should obsess about PBDEs to the point where they replace all their furniture at once," says Pennybacker.
