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.

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.

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.

“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,” said Mike Shriberg, Ph.D., Policy Director for the Ecology Center.

Even as the chemical industry insists deca is safe, the European Union has banned it from use, 10 U.S. states 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.  (From Ecology Center Press Release)