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Growing Threats: Toxic Flame Retardants And Children's Health2003-04-17 |
Executive Summary
Brominated flame retardants are chemicals that reduce the spread of fire in a variety of common products from fabrics to plastic. First introduced 30 years ago,they are now widely used despite minimal health testing,and they are rapidly building up inside our bodies. The testing that has been done indicates that brominated flame retardants are toxic to development and the levels found in some mothers and fetuses are rapidly approaching the levels shown to impair learning and behavior in laboratory experiments.
This report presents the latest scientific understanding of these toxic flame retardants in North America, their presence in our bodies and the environment, and their likely effects on children's health.
Toxic flame retardants pose risks to human health and the environment.
Manufacturers of consumer products commonly add flame-retardant chemicals to plastics and other flammable materials to reduce the risk of fire. One class of these chemicals, known as brominated flame retardants, now widely contaminate the environment, are accumulating in the human body, and have the potential to harm human health. The most studied of the brominated flame retardants are the polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. North American industry used 74 million pounds of PBDEs in 1999, accounting for half the world market. These chemicals escape into the environment from common consumer products like home furniture and electronics (including TVs, computers, and others) during manufacture, use and disposal.
PBDEs are remarkably similar to PCBs, a class of chemicals banned in 1976 because it was found to cause immune suppression, altered sexual development, cancer, delayed brain development, lower IQ, and behavioral problems like hyperactivity in humans. As with PCBs, exposure to PBDEs may be particularly harmful during a critical window of brain development during pregnancy and early childhood.
Levels of toxic flame retardants in people are rising dramatically.
Some types of PBDEs concentrate in the fatty tissues of living organisms. As a result, they bioaccumulate, or build up in the food chain, and now can be found in human blood, fat tissue, and breast milk. Initial studies of PBDE contamination of breast milk indicate U.S. levels are 40 to 60 times higher than levels found in Sweden. Levels of PBDEs in animal and human tissues are growing exponentially, doubling every two to five years. At this rate, tissue levels will increase 100- to 1,000-fold every 25 years.
When exposed to sunlight or when ingested by animals, some forms of PBDEs which do not themselves readily bioaccumulate may degrade in the environment into more bioaccumulative compounds. As a result, all commercial PBDE compounds should be considered bioaccumulative for policy purposes.
Levels of toxic flame retardants in people have already reached levels of concern.
Recent research shows that PBDE exposure can interrupt brain development in mice,permanently impairing learning and movement.So far,scientists have not identified “safe ”levels of exposure that do not produce damage.Additionally,both PCBs and PBDEs are found in humans,and their effects on brain development may be additive.The most highly exposed people may now have PBDE levels within two-fold of the levels shown to damage mice. If PBDE concentrations in people continue to double every 2.5 years,levels found in the average person will reach this threshold within ten years.
Experience with PCBs shows that failure to act on early warnings can lead to irreversible environmental contamination and damage to health.
Scientists discovered the first indications of systemic harm caused by PCBs as early as 1937. However, PCBs were not banned until 1976, after hundreds of scientific studies documented widespread exposure and actual harm to human health. Further study showed new forms of health impact caused by lower levels of exposure, which continue to be documented decades after the chemicals were phased out.
Phasing out chemicals leads to reduced contamination and exposure levels.
The European Union reduced the use of PBDEs in the late 1990s after finding increasing levels in the breast milk of Swedish mothers and preliminary evidence of toxic effects. Since 1998, concentrations of PBDEs in breast milk of Swedish women have declined steadily. Similarly, PCB levels found in the population began to decline after the U.S. banned the chemical. Reducing exposure prevented further harm to human health.
Safer means of fire-proofing products are widely available.
A variety of furniture, plastic, and electronics manufacturers have already deployed products that meet fire-safety standards without the use of PBDEs. Other strategies for flame-resistance include using inherently non-flammable materials and using alternative flame-retardant chemicals. For example, the furniture company IKEA recently replaced brominated flame retardants in fabrics with less toxic chemicals, and the Toshiba electronics company replaced toxic flame retardants in casings for electronic parts by switching to a non-flammable type of plastic that didn ’t need any chemical additives.
Policy Recommendations
The European Union has acted on early warnings of a significant health threat by banning several toxic flame retardants. In early 2003, the European Union officially banned the use of PBDEs and other toxic chemicals in electronics (such as computers and lighting) after mid-2006. A more comprehensive ban on the general marketing and use of several toxic flame retardants in Europe is on track for August 2004.
Phase Out Toxic Flame Retardants
There are still unexplored aspects of the toxicity of brominated flame retardants, and complete study would take many years. However, the evidence indicates that immediate action is warranted in California and the United States. Given the magnitude of the potential threat to public health, the rapidly increasing levels of exposure, and the availability of alternatives, this report recommends immediately phasing out the use of PBDEs and other brominated flame retardants.
Reform U.S. Chemicals Policy
The threat posed by toxic flame retardants demonstrates a national failure to effectively protect public health from toxic chemicals used in industry and placed in consumer products. Tens of thousands of industrial chemicals are on the market with little or no information about potential health impacts. Even where significant evidence of harm to public health exists, inadequate resources and legal authority prevent regulatory agencies from taking protective action.
Chemicals that are untested or known to be hazardous should not be on the market or in widespread use and distribution. U.S.chemicals policy should be reformed to ensure that manufacturers and industrial users provide regulatory agencies and the public with adequate information about their products so that agencies can act to protect public health from potentially dangerous substances before damage is done. The case of toxic flame retardants presents an apt case study of the failings of current policy.