Give toxics the boot! The filmmakers of Toxic Hot Seat, along with Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, and the International Association of Fire Fighters are working together to make our homes safer.
Flame retardants used in our home are making people sick. Fire fighters exposed to these flame retardants are dying from cancer, and these cancers may be from flame retardants.
“Brave fire fighters have demonstrated that toxic chemicals are shortening their lives. Neither bill before Congress would address those real world impacts. Congress owes it to our first responders and the rest of us to put meaningful chemical reform on the table.” Andy Igrejas, Director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.
Researchers from Duke University, Boston University, and U.C. Berkeley tested more than 100 couches from across the United States. They detected chemical flame retardants in 85% of these couches. The research was published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology in 2012.
California’s furniture flammability standard, also known as TB 117, requires that the foam used in upholstery withstand exposure to a small flame with out igniting for 12 seconds. Flame retardants are added to foam to meet these requirements. Although this TB 117 is unique to California, the researchers found that coaches manufactured across the country contained flame retardants and that “TB 117 is becoming a de facto standard across the U.S.”
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a type of flame retardant. The Environmental Protection Agency notes that PBDE’s may be toxic to both humans and the environment, so PBDE’s were phased out of manufacturing in 2004. However, PBDE’s are still being detected in humans and in our environment.
Since the PBDE phase out in 2004, alternative flame retardants have been used to meet the requirement of the California’s furniture flammability standard. The effects of these new flame retardants have not been thoroughly studied. These chemicals may be linked to cancer, hormone changes and could be neurotoxic.
Even more concerning is recent research that found these same flame retardant chemicals in house dust. The chemicals essentially leak out of the furniture and into our home environments.
Today is an important day for our children, our families and for the people who protect us. Flame retardants known to be dangerous are currently being used in products with high levels of human exposure without adequate toxicological testing. “Chemicals should be proven safe before ending up in our homes and building materials, to protect the health of American families and first responders.”
So lets Give toxics the boot!
The advice provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, advice or treatment for specific medical conditions