A previously unrecognized flame retardant found in Americans for the first time

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/ssi-apu111114.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 12-Nov-2014

Contact: Amelia Jarvinen
Silent Spring Institute
A previously unrecognized flame retardant found in Americans for the first time
Scientists discover how to detect several additional flame retardants in people's bodies

A new peer-reviewed study found that people are contaminated with several toxic flame retardants rarely studied in the US, including one that has never before been detected in Americans called TCEP. Scientists tested urine samples of California residents for biomarkers of six chemicals, all of which were present.

The scientists discovered a way to test for this class of toxic flame retardants (phosphates), which could open up a new wave of research into a group of pervasive flame retardants that were previously not studied nearly as much as some other flame retardants.

Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the study by researchers at Silent Spring Institute and the University of Antwerp was published online today in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology.

"We found that several toxic flame retardants are in people's bodies. When you sit on your couch, you want to relax, not get exposed to chemicals that may cause cancer," said lead author, Robin Dodson, ScD, a scientist with the nonprofit research group Silent Spring Institute. "Some flame retardants have been targeted for phase out, but unfortunately there are others that have largely been under the radar."

Fortunately, furniture without flame retardants is now available since the State of California recently revised its flammability standard after a public health outcry. The earlier standard resulted in high levels of flame retardants used in upholstered furniture across the country without appreciably improving fire safety. Hopefully levels of the chemicals in people's bodies will decrease as consumers are able to choose flame retardant-free furniture.

The chemical detected in Americans for the first time, TCEP [tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate], is a carcinogen and can also harm people's nervous and reproductive systems. The biomarkers for the chemical were detected in the urine of 75% of the people tested. More than a half a million pounds of TCEP are produced every year for use in polyurethane foam, plastics, polyester resins and textiles. It is listed under California's Proposition 65 as a carcinogen and the European Union has classified it as a "Substance of Very High Concern."

Another carcinogenic chemical detected in the study is similar to TCEP, like an "evil cousin," called TDCIPP (chlorinated "tris"). Some had expected that it wouldn't be so prevalent because they thought its production diminished after it was phased out of children's pajamas years ago. Arlene Blum, PhD, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute and Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley, said, "It is hard to believe that a metabolite of chlorinated tris, the same flame retardant we helped remove from baby pajamas in the 1970s, was found in almost all of the study participants. It is such good news that, thanks to the new flammability standard, such harmful chemicals are no longer needed in our furniture."

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