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While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
have different policies about retaining articles and providing access to archived material.
Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
For links no longer working, you may be able to gain paid access to text via the publisher's site.
NIEHS Director: "We kind of jump from the proverbial fry pan into the fire" when replacing chemicals.
As head of the federal institute examining environmental health, Linda Birnbaum and her staff are taking on many controversial topics, including Bisphenol A and new flame retardants. She is concerned about what role chemicals play in cancer and other diseases. Environmental Health News. 20 November 2009.
Air pollution takes a toll on young lungs.
New parents already have plenty of potential hazards to worry about, from flame-retardants in footed pajamas to hormone-disruptors in breast milk. A new study now adds air to the list of environmental concerns. Discovery Channel. 12 November 2009.
Household dust is an important source of exposure to a lesser known – but ubiquitous and potentially toxic – flame retardant, reports a study from Belgium.
This study is the first to examine the relationship between dust, diet and serum concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Results are consistent with studies of other better known flame retardants, indicating that indoor sources may contribute most of human exposure to these chemicals. 8 September 2009. More...
Council learns that cleansing the springs is possible.
A report on Eureka Springs included findings of the past year showing the presence of pervasive contaminants such as plasticizers and flame retardants, along with microbial contaminants, making the water effectively dangerous to touch, much less drink. Lovely County Citizen, Arkansas. 27 August 2009.
Discontinued flame retardant detected in baby products and house dust.
Tom Webster can for the first time answer “yes” when people ask him whether the flame retardants he's studied for the last five years are the same ones previously used in children’s pajamas. But he isn’t happy about it. Environmental Science & Technology. 20 August 2009.
Concentrations of PCBs, dioxins, and some flame retardant chemicals in human breast milk declined significantly between 1996 and 2006.
A new study of Swedish women confirms that PCBs -- a chemical used in electronics and transformers until the 1970s -- and dioxins and furans -- byproducts of industrial processes -- are less prevalent in breast milk now than in the mid 1990s. 24 July 2009. More...
People who eat meat and poultry have significantly higher levels of common flame retardants compared to vegetarians.
The findings indicate that food may be a more important source of the contaminants, known as PBDEs, than previously thought. 22 July 2009. More...
Potential neurotoxin could be in our food.
One of the most comprehensive analyses yet of human exposure to PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, shows that the chemical — long used in everything from computers to sleeping bags — enters humans through their diets, not just their household. Wired. 18 July 2009.
Chemicals heavily used in everyday products can end up in dust and increase people's exposure to the contaminants, reports a study by Belgium researchers who calculated exposure to bisphenol A, an antibacterial agent and a flame retardant through dust.
The researchers conclude that exposure to BPA, tetrabromobisphenol-A and triclosan from dust contributes to less than 10 percent of average total daily exposure. Diet and direct contact with personal care products are the the greatest contributors. 15 July 2009. More...
Local support wanted for toxic additive ban.
Worldwide speculation over the safety of PBDE’s has seen the Canadian government add it to the list of toxic substances. However, the government failed to also recognize the dangers associated with its counterpart decaBDE. Burns Lake Lakes District News, British Columbia. 8 July 2009.
A team of researchers report that some low concentrations of a commercial brominated flame retardant mix – which have no effect in laboratory rats – caused pregnancy failures when fed to female mink.
The low levels tested also skewed thyroid hormone levels in juvenile offspring that were exposed during development and weaning. The younger animals were more sensitive to the chemicals than the adult animals. 30 June 2009. More...
Reality check homo toxicus.
Modern humans have turned into something we'd rather ignore - carriers of chemicals from PCBs to phthalates to flame retardants. The concentrations vary from person to person. But toxins are now a part of our basic biological makeup. A case in point: Filmmaker Carole Poliquin. Toronto Globe and Mail, Ontario. Opinion, 26 June 2009.
New data suggest PBDE byproducts are ubiquitous in U.S. waters.
Research shows for the first time that compounds produced when PBDE flame retardants are exposed to wastewater treatment can generate dioxins that could be impacting aquatic wildlife and humans. Environmental Science & Technology. 28 May 2009.
Study links strandings to pollution.
Scientist Eric Montie tested for the presence of 170 chemicals in brain and cerebrospinal fluid he's collected from stranded marine mammals. He found exceptionally high levels of both the widely used flame retardant PBDE and a form of PCB. Cape Cod Times, Massachusetts. 27 May 2009.
Leading Africans to responsible recycling.
Using no safety precautions, electronics waste recyclers in developing countries expose themselves and their local environment to lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants that can damage almost every organ and system in the human body. New York Times. 25 May 2009.
Persistent organic pollutants.
Nine chemicals, including the widely used chemicals perfluorooctane sulfonate and brominated flame retardants, have been added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international treaty to which the U.S. is not party. Chemical & Engineering News. 16 May 2009.
Researchers report a higher risk of genital anomalies in boys exposed before birth to polybrominated biphenyl flame retardants.
Although no longer used, the effects of exposure to PBBs are of concern due to their similarity to currently used flame retardants, their long half-life and their ability to cross the placenta. The children of mothers who had the highest exposures also had a greater risk for urinary tract or genital problems. 15 May 2009. More...
UN: Treaty expanded by 9 more dangerous chemicals.
A U.N.-sponsored treaty to combat highly dangerous chemicals has been expanded beyond the original "dirty dozen" to include nine more substances that are used in pesticides, flame retardants and other products, U.N. officials said Saturday. Associated Press. 9 May 2009.
The law and flame retardants.
The flame retardant chemical legislators are looking to ban, Deca-bde, is neither a proven carcinogen nor does it display neurotoxicity effects. So why then would there be a bill proposing to add this chemical to this list? Simply put, a lack of balanced, informed debate. Portland Oregonian, Oregon. Opinion, 8 May 2009.
Tests of women leaders show how toxins turn up in Americans’ blood.
Tests of the body burden of five leading minority women environmentalists found a mixture of flame retardants, synthetic fragrances, bisphenol A and rocket fuel, among other contaminants. Los Angeles KABC TV, California. 2 May 2009.
Studies show some flame retardants decreasing in wildlife.
Levels of flame-retardant compounds in wildlife are declining in northern countries, suggesting that curbs on the chemicals are working, according to two new studies. Greenwire. 1 May 2009.
Are we in deep water?
Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of the Ocean Futures Society, announced OFS’s latest findings: humans are contaminated with toxins found in flame retardants – the same toxins found in whales and marine life. Santa Monica Mirror, California. 24 April 2009.
Area oysters contain fire retardant.
A fire-retardant chemical compound called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, that's banned in some countries has turned up in surprising levels in oysters in the Matanzas River near Crescent Beach. nearly untouched St. Johns County waterway. Jacksonville Times-Union, Florida. 20 April 2009.
State PBB experts still take sides after 35 years.
Thirty-five years after cattle were mistakenly fed polybrominated biphenyl, experts and officials assert that the flame-retardant chemical left virtually no adverse health effects, but did lead to tougher laws and improved business procedures. Booth Newspapers, Michigan. 20 April 2009.
Exposure to a commercial mix made up of common flame retardants led to thinner eggshells, fewer hatchings and less successful reproduction in captive American Kestrels.
The flame retardant chemicals may be contributing to declining numbers of this species in parts of North America. The new findings are similar to the well known effects that the now banned insecticide DDT had on predatory raptors during the middle decades of last century. 15 April 2009. More...
Fears lead parents to eco-proof nurseries.
When Pamela Davis was pregnant with her daughter Meaghan, she started to worry about contamination from the lead paint in her Hoboken, N.J., row house. Then she started reading about chemicals in plastic toys and baby clothes treated with flame-retardant. Monterey County Herald, California. 10 April 2009.
Flame retardant chemical found in all coastal waters, report says.
Dangerous chemicals found in flame retardants have seeped into the nation's coastal waters, including Puget Sound, according to a federal report released today. Portland Oregonian, Oregon. 2 April 2009.
Flame retardant, banned in Maine, found in shellfish.
Flame-retardant chemicals banned in Maine because of emerging public health fears have shown up in sediment or shellfish in all U.S. coastal waters, including in mussels collected along the Maine coast, according to a new federal report. Augusta Kennebec Journal, Maine. 2 April 2009.
Concerns raised about coastal levels of flame-retardant chemicals.
Flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to reproductive and neurological problems in animals have seeped into coastal environments even in remote regions and have been found in high concentration off populated areas such as Chicago and Southern California. Los Angeles Times, California. 1 April 2009.
Testosterone levels were significantly lower in men who lived in homes with high concentrations of flame retardants in house dust than those in homes with low levels of the chemicals in the dust.
The study of 24 adult men is the first to compare PBDE levels in dust with hormone levels in adult men. 1 April 2009. More...
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