There are two big questions in the fight against flame retardants: How do I protect my own family and how do I make a difference for the future of our planet?

How to protect your family

1. Keep dust levels down by wet mopping and vacuuming with a HEPA filter
2. Wash your hands and those of your children often, as hand to mouth contact exposes us to flame retardants in dust
3. Purchase baby products and furniture filled with cotton, polyester, or wool instead of polyurethane foam
4. Avoid products that use polyurethane foam and have a TB117 label which likely contain chemical flame retardants
5. Contact manufacturers to inquire whether retardants were added to product

Some manufacturers that state products do not contain halogenated flame retardants:

• BabyLuxe organic pads and mattresses
• BabyBjorn baby carriers
• OrbitBaby strollers and car seats
• Boppy nursing pillows

What should be done?

Demand toxic-free products for your family

Sample letters at: www.greensciencepolicy.org/safekids

1) Tell the California Bureau that implements the TB117 standard that needs to be updated so products are fire-safe and non-toxic.

Contact: Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Email: homeproducts@dca.ca.gov Phone: (916) 574-2041 Fax: (916) 574-2043 3485 Orange Grove Avenue North Highlands, California 95660

2) Contact California state Senators and Assembly Members and demand to be able to choose fire safe and non-toxic products for your family. Your voice does matter.

Legislators contact information: www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

According to the peer reviewed paper, Flame Retardants in Furniture Foam: Benefits and Risks, the California standard TB117 has not been shown to improve fire safety and is thus presenting an unnecessary health hazard.

• Baby products do not pose a fire hazard
• According to the National Fire Protection Association, their use in California has not led to a measurable improvement in fire safety
• Flame retardants may decrease fire safety since they increase the amount of carbon monoxide and toxic gases produced when a product does burn

This begs the question, “Why are they still used in baby products and furniture?”

The answer is easy. The producers of the flame retardant chemicals spend millions of dollars lobbying at the state and federal levels to create and maintain regulations like the California furniture flammability standard TB117 which are favorable to their industry.

For many chemicals, diet is the primary concern. Not so for most flame retardant chemicals. But how are we exposed?

1. Chemicals leak from products into dust
2. Dust gets on hands and food
3. Hands and food get put into mouths

On a sunny day, walk into your living room and pound on your sofa. Warning, you may want to wear a mask. The dust you see floating in the air that we like to call “dust moats” is likely laced with flame retardant chemicals.

An average American home can contain pound levels of these chemicals. Sadly, they have been detected in the bodies of nearly all North Americans tested.

The Green Science Policy Institute tested nursing pillows, car seats, sleeping wedges, portable crib mattresses, baby carriers, strollers, and changing table pads. 80% of the products we tested contained toxic or untested flame retardants.

Flame retardants, including Chlorinate Tris, Firemaster 550, and PentaBDE, are found in the foam inside upholstered furniture in order to meet California regulations — the must be able to withstand exposure to a small flame, like a candle or cigarette lighter, for 12 seconds without igniting. But these chemicals don’t stay inside the foam. They continuously migrate into dust and end up in pets and people. Surprisingly, flame retardants have been found in the bodies of creatures who have never sat on a sofa including salmon, peregrine falcons, cats, whales, polar bears and even Tasmanian devils.

But what about humans who do sit on sofas? Numerous studies find flame retardants in the blood of nearly everyone in the United States with the highest levels in infants and children.

Toddlers have the highest levels because of their hand-to-mouth behavior and proximity to the floor. They are also most vulnerable to the toxic effects of the chemicals since their brains and reproductive organs are still developing.

Tomorrow we’ll discuss flame retardant exposure. It may be different than you think.

Flame retardants, applied to the foam inside 80% of upholstered furniture in the United States, may not save lives. In fact, during a fire they will burn in seconds and give off the toxic gases that are the major cause of fire deaths.   They are used due to a California standard called Technical Bulletin 117, which was enacted in 1975. Most furniture manufactures across the U.S produce all their furniture to meet the California standards. As a result, where ever you live, you, and your children, are likely being exposed to flame retardants, which migrate continuously out of the foam and other products in your own home.

Flame retardant have been linked with:

• Decreased birth weight
• Reduced IQ
• Learning disorders
• Antisocial behavior
• Reduced fertility
• Undescended testicles
• Lowered levels of male sperm and male hormones
• Thyroid disruption
• Memory loss
• Cancer

Tomorrow we’ll talk about who is most at risk.