Discontinued pajama flame retardant detected in baby products and house dust
JUPITERIMAGES
their paper, children are also known exposure route, say Stapleton, WebTom Webster, the associate chair of to ingest much more dust than ster, and Susan Klosterhaus, an envithe Boston University School of Pubadults, so they are at disproportionronmental scientist at the San lic Health’s environmental health deately greater risk from any compound Francisco Estuary Institute and paper partment, has been investigating the found in house dust. coauthor. Tenney says that his orgapublic-health implications of flame TDCPP has been the main fire renization looks to the EU’s risk assessretardant use for more than five tardant used in automotive years. Because of a paper foam cushioning for many recently published in ES&T years, and it became the sec(2009, DOI 10.1021/ ond most widely used flame es9014019), Webster can for retardant in furniture foam the first time answer “yes” after the penta-BDE retarwhen people ask him dants were discontinued in whether the flame retardants 2004, according to Tenney’s he studies are the same ones statement. The penta-BDE previously used in children’s flame retardants were also pajamas. But he isn’t happy known to accumulate in about it. The new paper documents house dust, and penta-BDE the presence of tris(1,3was banned by the UN’s dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate Stockholm Convention on (TDCPP or TDCP) in the Persistent Organic Pollutants foam padding of products earlier this year. intended for use by children, Bob Luedeka, executive Researchers have documented the presence of TDCPP in the foam as well as in dust from U.S. director of the Polyurethane padding of children’s strollers, as well as other baby equipment homes. Heather Stapleton, Foam Association, says that and products. an assistant environmental foam formulators add flame chemistry professor at Duke ment “as the most comprehensive retardants to their products to meet University’s Nicholas School of the collective review of the science” and California’s Technical Bulletin 117 Environment, is the paper’s corre“remains interested in new research flame retardancy standard. Califorsponding author, and Webster is a addressing our products.” nia’s Bureau of Home Furnishings coauthor. They say that they are con“I was amazed when I learned that and Thermal Insulation interprets the cerned about both findings because a TDCPP was still in use,” says Arlene standard as applying to upholstered 1978 Science paper reported TDCPP Blum, founder of the Green Science furniture and baby products padded to be weakly mutagenic; by the early Policy Institute and a coauthor on with polyurethane foam, but Luedeka 1980s, the flame retardant had ceased both the 1978 Science paper and the and Tenney say they disagree with to be used in children’s pajamas. The new ES&T paper. The research team that interpretation. “There’s no reaU.S. Consumer Product Safety Comdetected TDCPP at levels of up to 5%, son for fire retardants to be used [in mission classifies TDCPP as a probby weight, in a baby stroller and a baby products],” Luedeka says. able human carcinogen, and the U.S. nursery rocking chair, as well as other Meanwhile, Klosterhaus says that Environmental Protection Agency foam-padded furniture, such as she has now detected TDCPP in bioconsiders it a moderate cancer hazcouches, chairs, and sofa beds. Some solids from wastewater treatment ard, according to their paper. of the tested items were intended for plants that discharge into San FranA written statement provided by use in a baby’s nursery. In fact, Stacisco Bay and in bay sediments. “It is Joel Tenney of the advocacy departpleton more recently determined that clear that these chemicals are capable ment of ICL Industrial Products TDCPP was also present in a nursing of entering aquatic environments,” America, a fire retardant manufacpillow and a changing-table pad. she says. Over the past decade, returer, counters that there is an exten“I am genuinely concerned about searchers at Stockholm University sive human-health toxicology data set [TDCPP’s presence] in children’s and Umeå University (Sweden) have showing that TDCP “does not pose products,” Webster says. Babies tend also reported finding the compounds any health risks for consumers.” This to put anything and everything in in residential air and dust samples, as assessment, however, seems to ignore their mouths, he points out, adding well as sewage sludge. the U.S. data on TDCPP and does not that his child “used to chew on his consider the importance of dust as an —KELLYN BETTS stroller.” As the researchers explain in 10.1021/es902480t
2009 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 08/18/2009
October 1, 2009 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 9 7159
