The ABCs of PBDEs

Two months ago, we spent a pretty penny on some organic mattresses for our sons. The cost of these mattresses sincerely offended my frugal sensibilities, but I spent it anyway.  Why? Well, after a fair amount of Google research, I concluded that the place where my children rest their heads for 10-12 hours a day should be as safe and healthy as possible.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) published the first-ever study on the levels of fire retardants found in children and their mothers. This is the same group, by the way, that had previously reported on fire retardant chemicals being found in household dust, breast milk and even umbilical cord blood. It was their studies that pushed me over the organic mattress edge. So while I was dismayed to read their most recent findings, I was also a little relieved that I had stood firm on the mattresses.

Here’s what EWG’s newest study discovered: Toddlers and preschoolers have 3 times as many fire retardant chemicals in their blood stream as their mothers do. The study found 11 different chemicals in these kids’ blood.  Eesh.

Now obviously chemicals in our kids’ blood stream doesn’t sound good. But is it really that bad? Let’s take a look.

Where are all these fire retardant chemicals coming from?
For the past 30 years, the federal government has required the manufacturers of many consumer goods to coat their products in flame retardant chemicals. The current class of flame retardant chemicals is called PBDEs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers. PBDEs are found in everything from the jewel cases on your CDs to your DVD players, from your drapes to your sheets, from your pajamas to your carpets.

The theory was that chemicals like PBDEs would slow the spread of fires, which would save lives.  What regulators didn’t know (or maybe they did?), was that these chemicals would also cause a host of health problems.

Health problems? What kind of health problems?
PBDEs are toxic chemicals that disrupt the thyroid hormone system (critical for developing brains), interfere with the nervous system and disrupt normal hormone development.

How do PBDEs wind up in our blood stream?
Scientists believe that products coated with PBDEs off-gas, and this gas turns into household dust. When you walk across your living rooms, your kick up this microscopic dust and breath it into your nostrils. When you lay your head down at night, you bury your nose in these particles, whic from your pillows, mattresses and bedding.

Even once these flame-retardant products finish their initial off-gassing, the chemicals continue to break down. While there isn’t conclusive data yet on what happens to these chemicals, I’m guessing it can’t be good.

Now in addition to off-gassing, scientists also believe that PBDEs are released into the environment during the manufacturing process.  This explains the elevated levels of fire retardant chemicals being found in wildlife and water sources.

But don’t take my word for it.  Here is what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has to say about PBDEs:

There is growing evidence that PBDEs persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms, as well as toxicological testing that indicates these chemicals may cause liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity. Environmental monitoring programs in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Arctic have found traces of several PBDEs in human breast milk, fish, aquatic birds, and elsewhere in the environment.

Why do children have higher levels of PBDEs in their blood stream?
I’m not a scientist, but here’s what I have gathered.  Little kids spend a lot of time hanging out on the floor, where all this PBDE dust sits.  Their toys are also on the floor, and those toys often end up in their mouths. Additionally, kid’s tiny little bodies are not as efficient at metabolizing and excreting toxic chemicals as adults are. So in short, kids not only ingest more chemicals, but their bodies are also less able to deal with them.

How do PBDEs affect children specifically?
The brains and reproductive systems of young children are developing at break-neck pace — and that development is incredibly vulnerable to toxic chemicals. While there has not yet been a study on humans to measure the affect of PBDEs, laboratory tests have found that when PBDEs are injected into mice, they can cause permanent behavior changes, including hyperactivity.

But I thought I read that PBDEs were banned?
There were two forms of PBDEs banned in the US due to safety concerns (these forms are called Penta and Octa.) Despite the ban, furniture made before the phase-out is still being sold in the US, as is imported furniture.

The current form of PBDEs is called Deca, which, not insignificantly, has been banned in European countries due to safety issues.  The EWG study found the Deca chemical in 65 percent of the children it studies.

The news about PBDEs is definitely not good.  But not everyone can afford to spend hundreds of dollars to purchase organic furniture.  Heck, even though we splurged for the kids’ mattresses, I know we still have plenty of toxic off-gassing going on with our furniture and consumer goods.

One might ask, why did I even bother?  Well, I’m a firm believer in the you-have-to-start-somewhere approach. We were anyway buying beds for the kids, so I wanted to make sure that the expenditure was as prudent as possible. Plus, given that the average 3 year-old still needs 12 hours of sleep each day, I wanted to leverage that expenditure for maximum impact.

That Mastercard commercial comes to mind.

Hours spent researching organic mattresses: 4

Dollars spent buying organic mattresses: $900

Peace of mind from knowing that my kids are sleeping safe tonight: Priceless.

Tune in next time when I talk about simple ways to reduce PBDEs in your home (without having to buy a single new mattress).