32. FLAME RETARDANTS
Humans developed a dependency on fire in prehistoric times, and since that time, fire has been an ever-present danger in our lives. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword in that fire has facilitated the rise of our species but has also consumed our homes, crops, cities, and lives. In modern times we are more removed from the everyday use of fire, as we typically don’t rely on it to heat and light our homes or to cook our food (unless we’re looking for ambiance). But the danger of fire is still with us. Open flames from fireplaces, candles, outdoor grills, and gas stoves can accidentally ignite fires. Add to that electrical fires, chemical fires, grease fires, toaster fires, dryer fires, forest fires, industrial fires, and on and on. If you have ever experienced a structure fire, you know that they are terrifying and can be lethal. But the news gets worse because some of the synthetic materials we use to build and furnish our homes make fires even more dangerous. Polyurethane foam, for example, catches fire quickly, burns hot, and produces copious quantities of toxic smoke. But foam is such a useful material that it is nearly ubiquitous in consumer products with padding. If you are sitting on a couch or an upholstered chair right now, you are almost certainly sitting on polyurethane foam. This can be a problem, especially if you like to smoke while you’re sitting on your highly flammable couch or bed.
People igniting their furniture with cigarettes was a bigger problem in 1975 when more people smoked. And 1975 was the year that the state of California created a rule (technical bulletin 117, or TB117) which mandated that all furniture sold in the state had to be filled with materials that could withstand an open flame for 12 seconds. Manufacturers achieved this standard by adding chemical flame retardants to their products. Although this rule applied only to furniture sold in California, most manufacturers just started adding flame retardants to all their stock to avoid having to sell different products in different markets. Over the years, flame retardants have been routinely added to many different categories of products, including baby products (bouncers, nap mats, strollers, toys, etc.), carpets, car and plane interiors, clothing, building materials, packaging materials, and electronics. These chemicals are now so abundant that you couldn’t avoid them if you wanted to. So, do you want to? Probably.
Chemical flame retardants, particularly brominated flame retardants, have been associated with obesity, endocrine disruption, thyroid problems, damage to the developing nervous system, decreased IQ, hyperactivity, infertility, and, yes, cancer. Hundreds of different chemical compounds are used as flame retardants, and little is known about the health effects of most of them. Many are persistent environmental pollutants, which means they hang around for a long time before decomposing. Many flame retardants are bioaccumulative, which means they build up in our bodies, primarily in fatty tissues. On top of all of that, it’s not even clear that these chemicals are achieving their intended objective. According to a 2009 test by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, flame retardant foam chairs go up in flames just about as hot and as fast as regular foam. In 2017 the CSPC recommended that manufacturers refrain from adding organohalogen flame retardants to their products because the risks outweighed the benefits. They concluded that chemical flame retardants pose a threat to human health, especially for children and pregnant women. They further recommended that consumers avoid purchasing products that contain these chemicals.
In 2013 the state of California revised TB117. The new rule (TB117-2013) replaces the open-flame test with a smolder test, making it possible for manufacturers to meet the standard with flame-retardant fabric linings rather than flame-retardant chemicals. Finally, you can buy furniture and baby products that are not burdened with these extra chemicals. It is probably worth it to pay attention and try to choose products that don’t come with an extra helping of flame retardants. This is especially important with baby products. But the new rule doesn’t forbid added chemical flame retardants, so you’re going to have to do some homework and ask some questions.
But even if you can afford to replace all the furniture in your home with new, flame retardant–free versions (and who can?), you’re likely still going to be surrounded by flame retardants. Remember, they are environmentally persistent, and they are found in all sorts of places, including soil, water, and food. Flame retardants have even been found in the fatty tissues of arctic polar bears. Pretty much everyone in the United States has some concentration of these chemicals in their bodies, and unfortunately the concentration is highest in small children. One of the reasons for this is that so many children’s products are treated with flame retardants. Another reason is that flame retardants collect in breast milk and are off-loaded into infants when they nurse. Yet another reason is that these chemicals are concentrated in the dust in our homes. Dust can be seriously toxic, and children who have more hand-to-mouth behaviors end up eating a lot of it.
When it comes to reducing your exposure to chemical flame retardants, controlling the dust in your home and washing your hands frequently are your best defense. Vacuum frequently and with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Dust with a wet cloth. Open the windows and go outside.
Preventability (22)
If you are willing to put in a lot of work, you can find furniture and baby items that don’t have chemical flame retardants. But you can’t find a car or a car seat that doesn’t have flame retardants, and you can’t live in a world where there are no flame retardants. Even polar bears can’t avoid them.
Likelihood (50)
Because so many different chemicals are used as flame retardants, it is difficult to estimate what the actual risk of harm might be. Therefore, we have gone with a middle-of-the-road value.
Again, because there are so many different chemicals in play, it is difficult to say how severe the consequences of exposure might be.
REFERENCES
Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2017). Guidance document on hazardous additive, non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants in certain consumer products. Federal Register, 82(187). Retrieved from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-09-28/pdf/2017-20733.pdf
Environmental Protection Agency. (2016, March). Reducing your child’s exposure to flame retardant chemicals. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-05/documents/flame_retardant_fact_sheet_3-22-16.pdf
McKinney, M. A., Letcher, R. J., Aars, J., Born, E. W., Branigan, M., Dietz, R.,. . . Sonne, C. (2011). Flame retardants and legacy contaminants in polar bears from Alaska, Canada, East Greenland and Svalbard, 2005–2008. Environment International, 37, 365–374.
Mehta, S. (2012, May 9). Upholstered furniture full scale chair tests—open flame ignition results and analysis [memorandum]. United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved from https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/openflame.pdf
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (2016, July). Flame retardants. Retrieved from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/flame_retardants_508.pdf
State of California Department of Consumer Affairs. (2013, June). Requirements, test procedure and apparatus for testing the smolder resistance of materials used in upholstered furniture. Retrieved from http://www.bearhfti.ca.gov/about_us/tb117_2013.pdf
Tox Town. (2017, August 23). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Retrieved from https://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=79