Toxic Flame Retardants in Toddlers & Preschoolers 3x Higher than in their Moms

Study Adds Support for Passage of Pending Michigan Bill to Restrict Deca-BDE

September 4, 2008

Ann Arbor, MI – In the first nationwide investigation of chemical fire retardants in children and their parents, Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that toddlers and pre-schoolers typically had 3 times more of the neurotoxic compounds in their blood as their mothers. The study suggests that U.S. children 1 to 4 years of age bear the heaviest burden of flame retardant pollution in the industrialized world. The results add critical evidence to support passage of HB 4465, the Michigan bill that would restrict deca-BDE, a major flame retardant tested for in the study.

Laboratory tests – conducted in collaboration with Dr. Åke Bergman, a preeminent environmental chemist – found that in 19 of 20 U.S. families, concentrations of the toxic chemicals known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) were significantly higher in 1 to 4 year-old children than in their mothers. The tests found the fire retardant deca-BDE, a PBDE that is banned in Europe but unregulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more often and in higher amounts in U.S. children than in their own mothers.

"This study is further proof that Michigan’s lawmakers must act now to pass HB 4465 to stop the unnecessary chemical contamination of children," said Katie Kelly, Environmental Health Organizer for Clean Water Action.

HB 4465 has the support of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs, the Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union, the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Michigan Nurses Association, the Ecology Center, Clean Water Action and Michigan Environmental Council as well as other health, medical, health-affected, and environmental organizations. Hearings are currently underway in the House Great Lakes & Environment Committee.

The average levels of PBDEs in the blood of children tested by EWG were about 62 parts per billion (ppb), compared to 25 ppb in their mothers. In the limited number of studies of this age group in other countries, Spanish, Norwegian, and Australian children had levels 2 to 15 times lower.

Last year, five Michiganders, including State Rep. Terry Brown (D-84) and his son, participated in a national biomonitoring project. PBDE levels in the five Michiganders ranged from 23 to 135 ppb, with Rep. Brown having some of the highest levels in the study.

"It’s well documented that U.S. adults are more exposed to chemical fire retardants than in other countries, but these findings show that young children in the U.S. are at even higher risk," said Anila Jacob, MD, EWG senior scientist and study co-author.

Toxic fire retardants in everyday items like furniture, sofas, televisions and computers could expose children to concentrations exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended safe level. Children ingest more fire retardants and other toxins when they put their hands, toys, and other objects in their mouths. HB 4465 would phaseout the addition of deca-BDE to furniture, mattresses, televisions, and computers sold in Michigan.

Children’s developing brains and reproductive systems are extraordinarily vulnerable to toxic chemicals. In the case of PBDEs, laboratory tests in peer-reviewed studies have found that a single dose administered to mice on a day when the brain is growing rapidly can cause permanent changes to behavior, including hyperactivity. "These chemicals are everywhere – in our homes, offices, and schools as well as in the Great Lakes," said Mike Shriberg, Ph.D., Policy Director for the Ecology Center. "We need to protect our children, our fire fighters, and the Great Lakes from deca-BDE by passing HB 4465."

Even as the chemical industry insists deca is safe, the European Union has banned it from use, 10 U.S. states (including Michigan) are considering or have enacted legislative bans, and major electronics manufacturers including Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, and Samsung no longer use deca and are phasing out other bromine-based fire retardants. These companies are already using safer, affordable fire retardants that meet fire retardant standards just as effectively as PBDEs.

In 2004, Michigan banned the only other PBDEs in commercial use, penta-BDE and octa-BDE. This new study comes on the heels of Michigan’s long-awaited release of its Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group report recommending "a legislative ban on Deca-BDE contingent on the availability of a safe alternative."

NOTE: Mothers are available for comment, as are leading U.S. and international scientists. The full report is available at www.ewg.org/reports/pbdesintoddlers.

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The Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health is a coalition of health professionals, health-affected groups, environmental organizations, and others dedicated to a safe and less toxic world for Michigan's children. www.mnceh.org.

EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. www.ewg.org.

For press questions, please contact:

Katie Kelly, Clean Water Action: 734-222-6347

Mike Shriberg, Ecology Center: 734-904-7015

Gen Howe, Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health: 617-833-3847