"They tend to be bio-accumulative, persistent and they also tend to be toxic," says Arlene Blum, executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute, which advocates against industrial flame-retardants. "We can have pounds of these in organohalogens in our consumer products in our homes"
It is not clear how such chemicals escape from couches, but as they age, they may leach retardants as dust that then gets inhaled or else works its way into the environment. Flame retardants have been found in rivers and streams around San Francisco as well as in fish and marine mammals.
Industry representatives say they are constantly changing the makeup of their products to reflect the newest science and safest ingredients. Environmentalists complain that the changing recipes amount to a shell game, where companies make tiny changes and then continue to sell a product while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restarts safety protocols.
Specifically, Blum worries about the health impacts of new organohalogens (like Firemaster 550, a popular alternative to pentaPBDE) because its compositional specifics are hidden behind patent laws. According to the EPA, Firemaster is not a health risk and has not been shown to accumulate in the body, although studies are still ongoing.
One possible solution would be to abandon flame retardants in foam and focus more on the fabrics covering the couch or else create an envelope of fire-proof material between the fabric and foam. However, both are expensive fixes and the textile industry has a history of controversial use of flame retardants, especially in children's clothing. Blum was a part of the movement to ban flame retardants in that merchandise.
Questions of health effects, however, could be moot if the extra retardant in foam is not actually preventing extra fires. Babrauskas says that TB 117 is ineffective, only serving to create more toxic smoke without observably limiting fires. Smoke from fires generally kills victims before the fire and has been linked to chronic disease in firefighters.
Environmental activists in California have tried to topple the 12-second rule before—which would immediately change how retardants are used in the rest of the country—with little success due to supporters' concerns that change would result in more fire deaths. The new legislation requires the state Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to amend TB 117 to include an option to chemical flame retardants (although it does not specify what that option should be), thus giving furniture manufacturers a choice between the old standard and a new one.
Mainstream furniture-makers have until now largely stayed out of the fight, allowing environmentalists and chemical companies including Albermarle, Chemtura, and ICL-IP America (the three dominant flame retardant companies) to slug it out. Furniture giant Ikea, however, recently drafted a letter supporting the changes to California policy, as did the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA).
Defending their products, representatives from the chemical industry point to broader statistics supporting the use of flame retardants in furniture. They say that every extra bit of retardant saves lives, pointing to the U.K., where they say decreases in fire deaths correspond to increases in the use of flame retardants.
Robert Luedeka, executive director of the U.S. Polyurethane Foam Association, a group representing companies that supply foam for furniture-makers, says customers are now very worried and confused about flame retardants in furniture. He stresses that his organization has not taken sides, adding that retardants do not really increase the cost of the foam. But it is only worth the effort if it saves lives. The chemical industry says 20 percent of fire-related deaths in residences occur as a result of fires that started on furniture. But data from the National Fire Protection Association suggests very few of these are from open flames like those controlled by TB117. "For this, millions of pounds of fire retardant is being put into upholstered furniture," he says. "The question is: Was there ever a threat?"
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10 Comments
Add CommentThis article discusses only flame retardants in furniture, I share Susan Lundy's concerned about the flammability of clothing, carpets curtains and other fabrics. Are the included in the same regulations as furniture material? If not, then what does Susan Lundy's story have to do with this article?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs I recall, back in the 'bad old days' it was quite common for clothing to burn and melt onto burning victims...
Pregnant women in the U.S. are exposed to industrial flame retardants and so are their unborn children. This may result in harm to the fetus during important development stages. http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/widespread-chemical-exposure-in-pregnant-us-women
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnimal studies of the flame retardants, PBDEs, show exposure may result in neurodevelopment effects. Conclusions find that penta-BDE levels in umbilical cord blood were associated with reduced IQ and physical development in children.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866690/
This study found that women who have higher blood levels of penta-BDE, which was used in furniture prior to it's ban in 2004 had a harder time becoming pregnant then those with lower levels. Old couch foam w. penta can be chopped up and recycled into carpet-back padding and therefore finding its way back into our homes.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866688/?tool=pubmed
There's scientific consensus on the environmental and public health threats that industrial flame retardants represent.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi/10.1289/ehp.1003089
To be fair, "flame retardant" is a broad term. Even PBDE isn't terribly specific. Some of the chemicals included have never been shown to be either toxic or bioaccumulative. Environmentalists worry about a sort of guilt by association - essentially that similar chemicals will have similar effects. It all comes down to "innocent until proven guilty" or "better safe than sorry."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBromine flame retardants (PBDEs) are in virtually every commercial product containing plastic or fabric - drapes, pajamas, bedding, cell phones, sofas, chairs, pillows, computers, etc. Bromine is also used as a dough conditioner in bread, and are an ingredient (brominated vegetable oil) in some soft drinks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne of the biggest impacts of bromine on the human body is the interference with iodine uptake, which in turn can cause endocrine disruption. Iodine is an essential mineral needed by the thyroid and other glands. In women, the breasts and ovaries are also large users. Tests of several thousand women show virtually all are iodine deficient, leading to thyroid disorders, fibrocystic breasts, PCOS, and other hormonal disruptions. Bromides are neurotoxic, leading to a wide variety of nervous system disorders.
A small group of MDs have conducted research showing inorganic iodine/iodide supplementation can displace bromine from cells of the body, and force its excretion, ultimately detoxifying the body and reversing ill effects. They have also developed urine tests for iodine sufficiency and bromine excretion.
For details on this research, see the book "Iodine, Why You Need it, Why You Can't Live Without It," by David Brownstein, MD. The subject is also covered in some depth in "The Wellness Project."
Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com
A research organization
The National Furniture Flammability Standard fact sheet from the National Association of State Fire Marshals provides the following facts about fire safety standards in California and the life-saving role flame retardants can play when they are included in household products.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCalifornia Fire Standards
• California is currently the only state with fire safety regulations for upholstered furniture.
• According to the California Bureau of Home Furnishings, fire fatality rates fell by more than 25 percent following the state’s adoption of furniture fire standards in the 1970s.
• According to the National Association of State Fire Marshals, close to 4,000 fires and 500 deaths would have been prevented over the 10-year period of 1985 to 1994 if the rest of the U.S. had adopted a fire standard for upholstered furniture similar to the one in California.
Life in the U.S. without Flame Retardants
• Fires originating in upholstered furniture account for more than 20 percent of all fire-related deaths in residential structures.
• About 10 people die each week in the U.S. as a result of residential upholstered furniture fires.
• An average of 360 people die and 740 are injured annually as a result of upholstered furniture fires ignited by cigarettes and small open flame sources. Flammability standards for upholstered furniture would help prevent these fires.
To learn more about furniture fires, visit the website of Are You Sitting Comfortably (www.rusc.eu). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) also offers more information about the effects of fire on life and property. It's important that we get all the facts about this issue!
Bryan Goodman
Manager, Product/Panel Communications
The American Chemistry Council
www.americanchemistry.com
The main reason manufactuerers use flame retardants is they don't want to be sued for fires--which they have been. As one clothing mfr's lawyer told me, though, they've "never been sued for cancer." And probably never will be. Meanwhile, we're using nuclear missiles to kill a few mice.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's not our responsibility when a person knows the risks and chooses to be reckless with their lives.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf someone REALLY cares, they find a way to quit.
A candle is equal to one smoker in the house. AND...
There are flame-less candles.
Might help if "Common Sense" was a required program to graduate from high school? Our cat is smarter than some of the people we know that graduated from college. How sad is that!