California study takes aim at flame retardants

20 May 2008 23:25  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A study released on Tuesday takes aim at the heath safety of baby cribs and other baby products containing halogenated flame retardants.

Entitled “Killer Cribs; Protecting Infants and Children from Toxic Exposure,” the study was released by the California-based organisation Friends of the Earth.

The study maintains that flame retardant chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders.

The organisation said it randomly sampled 150 baby products and 350 pieces of furniture in homes and stores for the presence of halogenated flame retardants. The products included portable cribs, playpens, car seats nursing pillows and other items.

The organisation said it found 31% of the products to have high levels (1,001 parts per million or more) of halogenated flame retardants.

“We’re poisoning our children, one crib at a time,” said Friends of the Earth vice president Russell Long.

However, Long acknowledged that studies linking such materials to the possibility of cancer, birth defects or neurological disorders were made using test data from animals and not humans.

Also, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not list halogenated flame retardants as human carcinogens.

“The EPA doesn’t even know what is in those products,” Long said, adding that the process to introduce such chemicals in products is lax in the US.

A bill pending in the California state legislature would phase out the use of halogenated flame in many products while promoting the use of fire safety alternatives, according to the organisation.

The Friends of the Earth report questioned whether use of such flame retardants are necessary for fire safety, saying the five-year averages of fire deaths in 1995-1999 was down substantially in eight key states when compared with the period of 1980-1984.

Building code improvements, the adoption of safer cigarettes and other factors have been cited in the reduction of fire-related deaths, Long said.

However, the National Association of Fire Marshals supports the use of flame retardants in furniture, according to Long.

A spokesman for US flame retardants producer Albemarle said he could not address the health issues raised by the study.

However, the effectiveness of the products in slowing or stopping fires can be easily measured, said Albemarle spokesman Rene Milligan.

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By: Brian Ford
+1 713 525 2653

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