Consumer group warns against common flame retardant

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/28/health/cpsc-flame-retardant-chemical-recommendation/index.html

By Susan Scutti, CNN
Updated 8:23 PM ET, Thu September 28, 2017

The Consumer Product Safety Commission published guidance in the Federal Registry Thursday that serves as a warning for consumers not to buy products containing a commonly-used class of toxic flame retardants, called organohalogen chemicals.
They have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, infertility, and neurological [brain] deficits in children, according to the commission's guidance document. Some studies, cited in this commission report, substantiate these claims.
The chemicals are especially hazardous to pregnant women and young children, studies find.

The commission, a government agency charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of consumer products, also recommended manufacturers stop using these chemicals in products where they are currently found. These include upholstered furniture, mattresses, electronic cases, and children's toys.

Commissioner Bob Adler said there's a "whole host of dangers" these organohalogen flame retardants carry.
"These chemicals are added to products to keep them from catching fire in smolder or open flame situations," said Adler.
He acknowledged, though, that the commission has not yet done careful and exhaustive studies of every single chemical within this class, but "every (chemical) that we've done careful and exhaustive study of has proven to be toxic -- and hazardously toxic -- to consumers."

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Bryan Goodman, a spokesperson for the North American Flame Retardant Alliance, said because these regulations help promote public safety "there is a need for international, national and regional code consistency." He said it is fortunate the guidance is non-binding and the new action merely constitutes "a recommendation." He added that the association will communicate to members that this is guidance and does not need to be followed.

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"What our staff has told us -- and what a number of academic experts and a number of health experts said -- is that the concentration of these flame retardants in things like furniture and children's products are not great enough to do very much to protect us from fire or smoldering hazards," said Adler.

Too small maybe to prevent fires, but still large enough to cause health hazards, he said.
Fire safety, though, is not just about chemistry, said Goodman. Product designers typically take a multi-layered approach, he said. "There is no one, single fire safety tool."
And not all products are the same, said Goodman. Some pose a greater fire risk than others.

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