Flame Retardants

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Purpose:

Flame retardants are applied to various products to reduce the flammability or slow the spread of fire of those products. (1)

Found in:

  • Clothing
  • Furniture
  • Electronics
  • Building materials
  • Seating in transportation (1)

Linked to:

  • ADHD - We must be careful here. ADHD can be caused by a multitude of factors. We are not saying that if your child is exposed to flame retardants that your child will automatically have ADHD. What seems to be true is that exposure to flame retardants increases the chances of young children being more inattentive. (2,3)
  • Issues with thyroid - PBDE, the most common, harmful flame retardant, is quite similar chemically to thyroid hormone. Therefore, it can act as a thyroid blocker. There also exist concerns about a link between certain flame retardants and thyroid cancer (13)
  • Decreases in IQ - The buildup of PBDE's in the placenta can pose developmental problems to the developing child (4,5,6)**
  • Testicular cancer (7)*
  • Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS) - TDS is comprised of several conditions. The most significant of these conditions is hypospadias, where the urethral opening is at the base of the penis rather than the head, and cryptorchidism, where the testes to do not fully descend. These conditions require costly surgery, and TDS is also linked to a higher chance of testicular cancer. (8, 9, 10)


*  Possible causal relationship; more research is needed to establish a firm link 

** Especially strong evidence to support this 

How to avoid:

See our take action section.

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Noteworthy Facts

  • Californians have the highest levels of exposure to flame retardants. This is due to the large number of wildfires that California faces every year. This is also a good reminder that in many cases, lifestyle changes are not quite enough to avoid exposure; proper legislation is necessary too (11). 
  • The manufacturers of these chemicals will do anything to keep these chemicals in your products. In 2013, a chemical manufacturing company by the name of Chemtura sued the state of California to block new legislation that would no longer require flame retardants to be used in furniture. Luckily, the case was thrown out by the judge (12). 
  • Your dust bunnies have especially high concentrations of flame retardants. Dust in general contains EDC's, however dust bunnies have a habit of picking up and storing large amounts of dust. Take caution when cleaning them out! (13)