Hand-Me-Down Hazard: Flame Retardants in Discarded Foam Products

This study also found the highest body burdens among black girls.Researchers have also found that low-income residences tend to have higher levels of flame retardants in dust.44 Little has been published on levels of newer flame retardants in the bodies or homes of lower-income populations. Few hard data exist to explain these disparities in flame retardant exposures, says Ami Zota, an assistant professor at George Washington University’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. It is possible that the physical weathering and crumbling of treated foam in older or cheaper furniture, which is more often found in lower-income homes, may release greater amounts of flame retardants into indoor environments.45 Housing quality, ventilation rates, and the number of residents per square foot may also play a role, Zota says. Research to date suggests the withdrawal of PentaBDE from the market a decade ago is having a positive impact on human body burdens of the chemical. In 2011 a study of 36 pregnant California women showed their average lipid concentration of PentaBDE congeners was 39% lower than the average lipid concentrations measured in a similar group of women three years earlier.5 Both groups were recruited from the same clinic, which primarily served low-income communities, and the earlier group’s levels had been among the highest ever reported for pregnant women, says Zota, a study coauthor. But some investigators are concerned that the benefits of a market-ba...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured Focus News and Policy Cancer Children's Health Dust Flame Retardants Health Disparities Industry Issues Laws March 2015 Occupational Health Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) Regulations Surveillance and Monitori Source Type: research