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DocWatch Flame Retardants
Wasn't asbestos a flame retardant?
Flame retardants: PCBs, PBDEs, PFOAs, PFCs.... these are serious business. The Teflon on your pan, the flame-proofness of your kids' pajamas... They bioaccumulate up the food chain. They are now found in fish. In whales. In polar bears. In dolphins. These things are now found in newborn human baby bodies. These astonishingly stable molecules are as utterly man-made as plastic -- and perhaps just as long-lived. Related Scary Tags:
contamination  ~ toxic buildup  ~ health impacts  ~ PCBs  ~ endocrine disruptor  ~ perchlorate  ~ heavy metals  ~ bisphenol A  ~ pesticide runoff  ~ ecosystem interrelationships  ~ toxic water  



Thu, Aug 28, 2014
from Daily Kos :
Fire retardant chems, cancer, health problems
In a reckless, "hope-for-the-best" approach that puts us all at risk, U.S. policy allows the release of synthetic chemicals into the environment--before their potentially devastating impacts have been adequately evaluated. Multiple Senate bills to fix this toxic system over the past decade have been snuffed out. On July 24, 2014, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bill, the "Protecting American Families from Toxic Chemicals Act" (S. 2656), which would ban a number of "persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic" synthetic chemicals such as brominated fire (or flame) retardants (BFRs).... BFRs enter our bodies mainly when we inhale or swallow dust. Various BFRs have been linked to cancer, thyroid disruption, memory and learning problems, delayed mental and physical development, lower IQ, early puberty, and reduced fertility. Ironically, BFRs start "fires" in our bodies by causing inflammation. ...


BFRs: Big Effing Retardant!

ApocaDoc
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Mon, Dec 30, 2013
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Breast milk harbors environmental pollutants
It's advice that doctors impart to mothers over and over: Breast milk is the most nutritious, fortifying food they can feed their babies. But women may not be aware of the strong possibility that their milk is also less than pure, an unintended consequence of living in a developed nation. That's because their bodies are exposed to chemicals like pesticides, flame retardants, additives and other chemicals from household products, air, water and food. Breast milk's high fat and protein content tends to attract heavy metals and other contaminants that make their way into a woman's body from the environment, and are then passed on to newborns, albeit usually in minuscule amounts. ...


Udderly busted.

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Tue, Nov 26, 2013
from On Earth:
Generation Toxic
We've known for years that lead seriously impairs early childhood development. Now scientists are finding that our kids' brains are at risk from a barrage of other common chemicals.... Every day, America's pregnant women and young children are exposed to a trifecta of suspected neurotoxicants in the form of pesticides (mostly via food and water but also home, lawn, and farm applications), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAH (mostly via exposure to vehicle exhaust), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs (flame retardants, mostly in upholstered furniture and electronics). ...


Sounds like a poison party!

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Thu, Feb 21, 2013
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Toxic nap mats draw suit in Oakland
An Oakland watchdog group said Tuesday it is suing major manufacturers and retailers, including Target and Amazon.com, for selling nap mats made with a toxic flame retardant that is also a known carcinogen.... Many foam nap mats, which are widely used at places like day care centers, are doused with flame retardants linked to obesity, hormone disruption and infertility, according to the lawsuit. One of those flame retardants is chlorinated Tris, a carcinogen that was banned more than 30 years ago from children's pajamas, the group says. These chemicals are released into the air that infants and toddlers inhale as they doze on the mats, said Caroline Cox, the center's research director. ...


This just ... makes me ... sleepy.

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Tue, Jul 10, 2012
from Environmental Health News:
New evidence for flame retardant's role in autism
A mother's exposure to a flame retardant before, during and after pregnancy interacted with a known genetic mutation to impair learning and memory and decrease social behaviors in her offspring, a study with mice has found. Female mice were more sensitive to the exposure, which altered the on/off switches in the epigenetic code. This is the first study to link genetic, epigenetic and behavioral changes to a flame retardant chemical in females with a high genetic risk for autism spectrum disorders. The study is important because it focused on a specific gene mutation linked to Rett's syndrome -- a condition on the autism spectrum that primarily affects females. The results suggest that genetic risk for social deficits can interact with an environmental chemical to tip the balance toward exacerbated autistic behaviors. An individual with genetic risks for other health-related problems or diseases may also be more sensitive to these environmental chemicals than the overall general population. During the past 25 years, brominated flame retardants -- including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) -- have been used in home furnishings and electronics to slow their burning during a fire. PBDEs are routinely detected in household dust, food and air. ...


Mice... have mothers?

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Wed, Apr 4, 2012
from Environmental Health News:
Burning irony: Flame retardants might create deadlier fires
In one of the deadliest nightclub fires in American history, 100 people died at a concert in Rhode Island nearly a decade ago. But the biggest killer wasn't the flames; it was lethal gases released from burning sound insulation and other plastics. In a fatal bit of irony, attempts to snuff fires like this catastrophic one could be making some fires even more deadly. New research suggests that chemicals -- brominated and chlorinated flame retardants -- that are added to upholstered furniture and other household items to stop the spread of flames are increasing emissions of two poisonous gases. In one experiment, nylon containing the flame retardant brominated polystyrene released six times more hydrogen cyanide when set afire than the same material containing a halogen-free flame retardant. Hydrogen cyanide, used in the Nazi gas chambers, is 35 times more deadly than carbon monoxide. During a fire, it can kill in as little as one minute. ...


When it comes to the human race sometimes all you can do is laugh!

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Mon, Apr 2, 2012
from Windsor Star:
New chemicals piling up in environment
New flame retardants meant to replace their toxic predecessors are showing up in the air around the Great Lakes in increasing concentrations and travelling as far north as the Arctic. These new findings raise a red flag that these chemicals need to be more closely examined to see if they accumulate in the environment and animals, according to Hayley Hung, a research scientist at Environment Canada, who found concentrations of tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) and tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) in both Canada's High Arctic and the Tibetan Plateau. "It's not just a localized problem," Hung said. "(They) could become a global pollutant." ...


We are not very bright at making retardants.

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Thu, Sep 22, 2011
from ScienceDaily:
'Emerging Contaminants of Concern' Detected Throughout Narragansett Bay Watershed, U.S.
Rainer Lohmann, associate professor of chemical oceanography, and graduate student Victoria Sacks, with the help of 40 volunteers, tested for the presence of the chemicals in 27 locations. The compounds were found at every site.... The three compounds the researchers measured, which scientists refer to as "emerging contaminants of concern," are: triclosans, antibacterial agents found in many personal care products and which have been identified as posing risks to humans and the environment; alkylphenols, widely used as detergents and known to disrupt the reproductive system; and PBDEs, industrial products used as flame retardants on a wide variety of consumer products. PBDEs have been banned because they cause long-term adverse effects in humans and wildlife. PBDEs, methyltriclosan and triclosan were found in highest concentrations in the Blackstone River, Woonasquatucket River and in upper Narragansett Bay, while some detergents were detected at similar levels at nearly every site. ...


Let's just redefine these compounds as modern-day spices. Problem solved!

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Tue, Aug 30, 2011
from BBC:
What is killing killer whales?
Marine experts are concerned about an invisible threat to the animals that has been building in our seas since World War II. That was when industries began extensively using chemical flame retardants, such as PCBs. These chemicals were later found to harm human health and the environment, and governments around the world banned their use in the 1970s. But their legacy lives on in the world's seas and oceans, say biologists, posing a modern threat to animals such as killer whales, also known as orcas.... As large mammals, killer whales consume a large amount of prey. But this position at the top of the food chain, as "apex predators", makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in their prey. That is because orca feed on fish that in turn eat polluted prey or absorb pollution from the water. So the orca ingest all of the pollution in the chain, in a process called "bioaccumulation".... Dr Jepson says this fat solubility is a considerable issue for female cetaceans such as killer whales who feed their young for up to a year on high fat milk to kick-start their development. "You get this huge maternal transfer. It's been calculated that in whales and dolphins about ninety percent or more of the mother's body burden of PCB can be offloaded, particularly to the first calf," he tells BBC Nature. ...


The top of the food chain is only as strong as its bioaccumulated links.

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Mon, Jul 4, 2011
from Mother Jones:
Persistent pollutants linked to diabetes?
But another culprit may be contributing, too: exposure to certain pesticides and other toxic chemicals. A new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Diabetes Care found a strong link between diabetes onset and blood levels of a group of harsh industrial chemicals charmingly known as "persistent organic pollutants" (POPs), most of which have been banned in the United States for years but still end up in our food (hence the "persistent" bit--they degrade very slowly). The ones with the largest effect were PCBs, a class of highly toxic chemicals widely used as industrial coolants before being banished in 1979. Interestingly, the main US maker of PCBs, Monsanto, apparently knew about and tried to cover up their health-ruining effects long before the ban went into place. Organochlorine pesticides, another once-ubiquitous, now largely banned chemical group, also showed a significant influence on diabetes rates.... How are these awful chemicals sticking around and still causing trouble decades after being banned? POPs accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals--and transfer to the animals that eat them, including humans who eat meat and fish. In industrial animal farming, livestock are often given feed that includes animal fat, which helps POPs hang around in the food chain. "We feed the cow fat to the pigs and the chickens, and we feed the pig and chicken fat to the cows".... Farmed salmon, too, carry significant levels of these dodgy chemicals, especially PCBs. ...


POP goes the food chain!

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Wed, May 11, 2011
from Postmedia News:
Pollutants taking toll on polar bears: researchers
Persistent organic pollutants used in industry are changing the genitals and bones of polar bears in East Greenland, says a Danish wildlife veterinarian and toxicologist. "Shrinking balls and degraded bones," linked to the presence of pesticides and flame retardants in the Arctic, are likely to affect the animals' fertility and reproductive success, said Christian Sonne at last week's conference on Arctic climate change and pollution in Copenhagen. These impacts are "not just" affecting polar bears, said Sonne who works at the National Environmental Research Institute of Denmark. People, as well as other animals, in Canada's Arctic may also be at risk of similar effects from these pollutants... ...


Just slip 'em some calcium supplements and viagra and they'll be fine.

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Tue, Apr 26, 2011
from Indiana University:
IU study finds flame retardants at high levels in pet dogs
Indiana University scientists have found chemical flame retardants in the blood of pet dogs at concentrations five to 10 times higher than in humans, but lower than levels found in a previous study of cats. Their study, "Flame Retardants in the Serum of Pet Dogs and in their Food," appears this month in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Authors are Marta Venier, an assistant research scientist in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and Ronald Hites, a Distinguished Professor in SPEA. Venier and Hites explore whether pets could serve as "biosentinels" for monitoring human exposure to compounds present in the households that they share. Dogs may be better proxies than cats, they say, because a dog's metabolism is better equipped to break down the chemicals. ...


It always comes down to cats vs. dogs, doesn't it?

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Wed, Apr 20, 2011
from Environmental Health News:
California's poor, Mexican American kids have among world's highest levels of flame retardants
Mexican American school children in California are contaminated with seven times more flame retardants than children in Mexico and three times more than their own mothers, according to a new study. The 7-year-olds in the Salinas Valley had more of the chemicals in their bodies than almost all other people tested worldwide. University of California scientists warn that the levels they found in the children "present a major public health challenge." Low income, rather than race or ethnicity, is probably the major factor in determining who is highly exposed to these chemicals. Household dust is likely the major source. ...


These kids may be poor but at least they won't catch on fire easily.

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Tue, Mar 15, 2011
from Science News:
Better by Design
...Many of today's chemicals -- in packaging, cleaning products, furniture and elsewhere -- go where they should not go and do more than they were designed to do. Bisphenol A, a common ingredient in polycarbonate plastics, has made headlines for getting into the body and interfering with tissue development and function (SN: 7/18/09, p. 5). Flame retardants new and old persist in the environment, contaminating soil, waterways and wildlife (SN: 4/24/10, p. 12). And a new analysis, reported online January 14 in Environmental Health Perspectives, finds that the blood and urine of 99 percent of pregnant American women tested contain a laundry list of chemical interlopers, including various PCBs, pesticides, PFCs, PBDEs, phthalates and the rocket-fuel ingredient perchlorate. Unless there is a fundamental shift in the way that chemicals are created from the outset, the next generation of compounds will probably be just as meddlesome... Currently more than 30 million metric tons of chemicals are produced in or imported to the United States each day, a quantity that would fill a line of tanker trucks 10,000 miles long. And industrial chemical production is expected to double in the next quarter century, outpacing population growth. ...


This is why my wife and I are gonna buy an android child!

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Fri, Jan 14, 2011
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Toxics found in virtually all pregnant U.S. women tested in UCSF study
Multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in items such as nonstick cookware, furniture, processed foods and beauty products, were found in the blood and urine of pregnant U.S. women, according to a UCSF study being released today.... Of the 163 chemicals studied, 43 of them were found in virtually all 268 pregnant women in the study. They included polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs, a prohibited chemical linked to cancer and other health problems; organochlorine pesticides; polybrominated diphenyl ethers, banned compounds used as flame retardants; and phthalates, which are shown to cause hormone disruption. Some of these chemicals were banned before many of the women were even born.... The chemicals found in 99 percent to 100 percent of the women included certain PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, phenols, PBDEs, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and perchlorate. ...


Just think of it as vaccinating fetuses against future toxic buildup.

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Wed, Dec 22, 2010
from AolNews:
Risky Business: EPA Builds List of Potentially Dangerous Chemicals
As the rates of learning disabilities, autism and related conditions rise, the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release a roster of the pollutants likely to contribute to these or other neurological disorders. In an ongoing, three-year effort, an EPA team has determined which developmental neurotoxicants -- chemicals that damage a fetal and infant brain -- may pose the biggest risk to the American public. Some compounds on the EPA's list are ubiquitous in household products, drinking water, medicine, and within the environment. They range from cadmium, used to etch colorful cartoons onto children's glasses, to flame retardants used to fireproof upholstered furniture. ...


I'd rather not know!

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Tue, Dec 7, 2010
from Environmental Health News:
Study: Flame retardant found in small butter sample
A stick of butter purchased at a Dallas grocery story contained high levels of a flame retardant used in electronics, according to environmental scientists at the University of Texas School of Public Health. The butter was contaminated with a chemical called polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of U.S. butter contaminated with PBDEs," said lead research Arnold Schecter, whose study was published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The butter was purchased last year as part of a small research project to test for contaminates. The butter stick's wrapper contained even higher amounts of PBDEs. The source of the contamination remains a mystery. ...


Maybe it's the first time anyone's looked.

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Fri, Nov 12, 2010
from Our Amazing Planet:
Study: Common Flame Retardant Polluting Globally
A widely used flame retardant taints the air and water between Greenland and Antarctica, a new study reveals. The chemical, Dechlorane Plus, joins a list of chemicals that are detected far from the factories where they were originally created. Scientists are unsure how Dechlorane Plus travelled so far, or even how dangerous it is in these environments. But now that they've found it, the next step is to figure out what it will do to marine ecosystems. "The facts on how bad [Dechlorane Plus] is to the environment has really yet to be worked out," said Ed Sverko of Environment Canada. Sverko also studies Dechlorane Plus, but was not involved with the study. ...


Something tells me Dechlorane Plus will be a minus.

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Fri, Oct 29, 2010
from TIME:
Flame Retardants in Everyday Products May Be a Health Hazard, Scientists Say
Here's a fact to brighten your Thursday: you have a much smaller chance than your grandparents of bursting into flames. That's because brominated and chlorinated flame retardants (BFR and CFR) -- classes of chemicals that inhibit fire ignition -- have become common ingredients in everything from clothes to couches to computers. (You can thank safety-conscious California for that; the state's tough laws on flame retardants led to their wide-scale use by manufacturers around the country.) But fire safety has come with a cost. The chemicals used to prevent fires have repeatedly been shown to cause damage to human health. First polychlorinated binphenyls (PCBs) were found to be severely toxic to people and the environment, and the chemicals were banned in 1977. Next came polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), another class of chemicals used as flame retardants; over the years PBDEs have been found to accumulate in organic tissues and in the environment -- even in human breast milk -- and they are hormones disruptors, with links to thyroid and other health problems. PentaBDE and OctaBDE have been banned by the European Union and withdrawn from production by the only U.S. manufacturer; one other chemical, DecaBDE, is still in wide production but is restricted in the European Union and will be voluntarily withdrawn from the U.S. in 2013. ... Other BFRs and CFRs have emerged as substitutes for restricted flame retardants, but it turns out that they, too, may be linked to health problems. ... CFRs and BFRs contain compounds that are carcinogens, reproductive and neurological toxins and endocrine disruptors. And like their predecessors, once these chemicals come into contact with the human body, they can hang around for a long time, accumulating in greater proportions. ...


Better Freakin' Rethink! Chemical Follies Ricochet.

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Mon, Jun 28, 2010
from AP:
Report: Toxins found in whales bode ill for humans
Sperm whales feeding even in the most remote reaches of Earth's oceans have built up stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals, according to American scientists who say the findings spell danger not only for marine life but for the millions of humans who depend on seafood. A report released Thursday noted high levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, silver, mercury and titanium in tissue samples taken by dart gun from nearly 1,000 whales over five years. From polar areas to equatorial waters, the whales ingested pollutants that may have been produced by humans thousands of miles away, the researchers said.... The researchers found mercury as high as 16 parts per million in the whales. Fish high in mercury such as shark and swordfish -- the types health experts warn children and pregnant women to avoid -- typically have levels of about 1 part per million.... "The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings," Payne said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting. ...


Who would have expected toxin bioaccumulation to become an evolutionary force?

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Thu, Jun 3, 2010
from Environmental Health News:
Flame retardants linked to longer time to get pregnant, finds California study
Chemicals widely used to prevent fires in household products like furniture and electronics may contribute to fertility problems by lengthening the time it takes for a woman to get pregnant, according to study of low-income, mostly Mexican-American women living in California. The study is one of the first to examine if PBDEs can affect human fertility. Animal studies show that PBDEs can alter behavior, delay the onset of puberty and impact sex hormones and thyroid hormones. These, in turn, may influence ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity and fertility. ...


Think of the money we can save on sex ed!

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Sat, May 1, 2010
from Environmental Health Perspectives:
Human Exposure to PBDEs, with Heather Stapleton
...Flame retardant chemicals can be found in everything from kids' car seats to the cushions in your old living room couch. The bad news is that they can probably also be found in you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PBDEs--or polybrominated diphenyl ethers--show up in the bodies of almost 100 percent of the U.S. population,1 and they may be negatively affecting human health and development... A PBDE is a man-made--anthropogenic--chemical, and they are produced by companies throughout the world and then sold to manufacturers of certain products that require flame retardants. So as you have increasing temperatures with fire, what happens is that the bond that keeps the bromine to the molecule breaks; it decomposes and releases bromine to the surrounding environment and to the atmosphere. And bromine is a very effective scavenger of free radicals. So by scavenging these free radicals, you're basically reducing the potential of the fire to propagate, so it basically smolders out. And so that's how these PBDEs, when they're present in such products as foam in your furniture or in your plastic for your electronics, helps to reduce their inherent flammability. ...


We 'Docs kind of fancy ourselves "scavengers of free radicals."

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Mon, Apr 12, 2010
from Michigan Public Radio:
Invasive Species and PCBs
New University of Michigan research finds invasive species are accelerating PCBs up the food chain. Recent dredging of the Saginaw River was intended to remove PCB contaminated soil. U of M fishery biologist David Jude says tests indicate the dredging worked. But he says walleyes are showing signs of increased PCB contamination. Jude traces the problem to two invasive species, zebra mussels and round gobies. "Zebra mussels filter a liter of water a day. They are removing a large amount of the algae out of that water," says Jude, "and as a result of that they are picking up a lot higher concentration of PCBs. There are some really outrageous high concentrations of PCBs in zebra mussels in the Saginaw River." Jude says as other aquatic life eats the invasive mussels, the PCBs move up the food chain. ...


Can we just call it unintended bioremediation?

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Sat, Mar 27, 2010
from Science News:
Alternative flame retardants leach into the environment
Two chemicals that are becoming widely used replacements for potentially toxic flame retardants in household products such as televisions and furniture have shown up in peregrine falcon eggs in California. The discovery, part of a larger study monitoring contaminants in wildlife, adds to evidence that these new flame retardants escape into and persist in the environment, as the original ones do....While the replacement compounds were found in much smaller quantities than the flame retardants that have been on the market for years, their presence in bird eggs is cause for concern, said June-Soo Park of the California Environmental Protection Agency in Berkeley. Little is known about the toxicity of the replacement compounds and their potential to accumulate in people and wildlife, said Park, who presented the new research March 25 at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society. ...


I'm waiting for the TV show on this I can watch while sitting in my furniture.

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Tue, Jan 26, 2010
from Environmental Health News:
Scientists link flame retardants and reduced human fertility
Women exposed to high levels of flame retardants take substantially longer to get pregnant, indicating for the first time that the widespread chemicals may affect human fertility, according to a study published Tuesday. Furniture cushions, carpet padding and other household items contain hormone-disrupting flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Two of the most widely used compounds have been banned in the United States since 2004, but they remain ubiquitous in the environment, inside homes and in the food supply. Epidemiologists from the University of California at Berkeley studied 223 pregnant women in California’s Salinas Valley, an agricultural community with predominantly low-income, Mexican immigrants. More than 97 percent of the women had PBDEs in their blood, and those with high levels were half as likely to conceive in any given month as the women with low levels. ...


What if you're actually having sex ON these furniture cushions?

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Mon, Jan 25, 2010
from Environmental Health News:
Younger mothers' breast milk has highest levels of flame retardants
A study of breast milk samples from more than 300 women in North Carolina finds flame retardants contaminate the milk from almost three-quarters of the woman in the study. Women older than 35 had the lowest levels of PBDEs in their milk. The highest levels were measured in breast milk from women aged 25 to 29, followed by women younger than 25 years old. The results suggest that younger mothers may have higher exposure to these flame retardant chemicals through their environment or lifestyles. PBDEs are chemicals used in electronics, furniture, carpeting and textiles to reduce the risk of fire. In rats, early life exposures to PBDE has been associated with altered thyroid hormone function, hyperactivity and poorer learning and memory. Human health effects are not so well understood. Most Americans have detectable levels of PBDEs in their blood. Dust and food may be the biggest sources for people. Breast fed babies are exposed through breast milk, however, experts agree that breastfeeding also provides important nutritional and immune benefits for the infant. ...


I can eat less food... but I don't think I can give up my beloved dust!

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You're still reading! Good for you!
You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy):
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day!
Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore.
Thu, Jan 21, 2010
from Peninsula College, via EurekAlert:
Stain repellent chemical linked to thyroid disease in adults
A study by the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School for the first time links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics.... PFOA is a very stable man-made chemical that excels at repelling heat, water, grease, and stains. It is used during the process of making common household and industrial items including nonstick pots and pans, flame-resistant and waterproof clothing, wire coatings, and chemical-resistant tubing. PFOA can also be formed by the break-down of certain other highly fluorinated chemicals used in oil and grease-resistant coatings on fast-food containers and wrappers and in stain-resistant carpets, fabrics, and paints. ...


That accusation will just slide right off the industry.

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Tue, Jan 19, 2010
from Columbia University, via EurekAlert:
Prenatal exposure to flame-retardant compounds affects neurodevelopment of young children
PBDEs are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and widely used flame-retardant compounds that are applied to a broad array of textiles and consumer products, including mattresses, upholstery, building materials, and electronic equipment. Because the compounds are additives rather than chemically bound to consumer products, they can be released into the environment. Human exposure may occur through dietary ingestion or through inhalation of dust containing PBDEs. The researchers found that children with higher concentrations of PBDEs in their umbilical cord blood at birth scored lower on tests of mental and physical development between the ages of one and six. Developmental effects were particularly evident at four years of age, when verbal and full IQ scores were reduced 5.5 to 8.0 points for those with the highest prenatal exposures.... "The findings are consistent with effects observed in animal studies and, if replicated in other North American populations, they could have important public health implications." ...


No burning mattresses, just a generation of stupid children.

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Thu, Jan 14, 2010
from BBC (UK):
Arctic polar bears imperilled by man-made pollution
The long term survival of polar bears is being threatened by man-made pollution that is reaching the Arctic. This conclusion comes from a major review of research into how industrial chemicals such as mercury and organochlorines affect the bears. The review suggests that such chemicals have a range of subclinical effects. When added together, these can have a dramatic and potentially fatal impact on the bears' bones, organs and reproductive and immune systems. The review, an analysis of more than a decade's research into the effect of pollution on bears, is published in the journal Environment International.... These include toxic metals such as mercury, organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) including organochlorines, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perflourinated compounds (PFCs), which are used industrially in insulating fluids, as coolants, in foams and electronics and as pest control agents. Such chemicals are often fat-soluble and accumulate in the fat of many animals, which are then eaten by top predators such as polar bears. ...


The invisible hand has a long, long reach.

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Mon, Jan 4, 2010
from Washington Post:
Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law
Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States -- from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners -- nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision. The policy was designed 33 years ago to protect trade secrets in a highly competitive industry. But critics -- including the Obama administration -- say the secrecy has grown out of control, making it impossible for regulators to control potential dangers or for consumers to know which toxic substances they might be exposed to. ...


A little mystery so goes a long way.

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Wed, Dec 30, 2009
from Associated Press:
Scientists begin testing mussels for pollutants
SAN FRANCISCO -- California scientists hope studying 180 black mussels pried from algae-covered rocks in San Francisco Bay will provide clues into how many drugs and chemicals are polluting waters across the nation. Mussels filter water and store contaminants in their tissue, providing a record of pollution in the environment. The creatures are being culled from 80 sites in California as part of a pilot study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see how pervasive the substances have become. "We haven't measured mussels for these compounds, so there's not a lot of data," Dominic Gregorio, a senior environmental scientist with the State Water Resources Control Board, said. "So this is really a first step to be proactive and get ahead of the curve on this." ...


What, pray tell, HAVE you scientists been doing???

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Mon, Dec 28, 2009
from Associated Press:
NY scientists to study affect of everyday toxins
New York scientists have been awarded a $5 million federal grant to study long-term human exposure to chemicals in the environment. Chemicals can pop up in plastic bottles, toys, medical equipment and pillows and upholstery. Scientists are looking to see if micro-amounts of environmental compounds that humans are exposed to will stay in the body, or have lasting effects. California and Washington state also have been awarded grants. Scientists will take samples of urine, blood and saliva, and even test the breath of subjects... They'll measure how much and what kinds of chemicals are flowing through blood and fat tissue. Some of those chemicals are metabolized and leave the body, while others hang around. ...


I feel like this would have been exciting news ... in the 1950s!

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Thu, Dec 24, 2009
from Environmental Science and Technology:
Flame retardants are the suspected source of a new compound in the environment
Ed Sverko didn't set out to find a new compound bioaccumulating in fish when he and a group of Canadian colleagues began looking at a Lake Ontario sediment core sample to collect data on how the concentrations of the widely used Dechlorane Plus (DP) flame retardant changed over time... DP has been detected in the environment before, so Sverko and his colleagues expected to find it in the sediment core. However, during their analysis, the researchers also noted a number of the unknown mass spectra peaks that appeared to be from unknown compounds related to DP...the research team was able to identify plausible sources of all the new compounds. To the best of their knowledge, none have been previously reported in the environment. ...


Dude. Our crap is making up its own shit.

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Thu, Dec 3, 2009
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Study: Chemicals, pollutants found in newborns
Chemicals from cosmetics, perfumes and other fragrances were detected along with dozens of other industrial compounds in the umbilical cords of African American, Asian and Latino infants in the United States, according to a national study released Wednesday. Laboratory tests paid for by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group and Rachel's Network found 232 chemicals and pollutants in the umbilical cords of the 10 babies tested in five states between December 2007 and June 2008...Seven of the 10 babies had in their umbilical cord blood synthetic musks known as Galaxolide and Tonalide, which are toxic to aquatic life and have been shown in preliminary studies to cause hormonal changes. ...


The sooner they get used to it, the better.

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Tue, Sep 8, 2009
from Environmental Health News:
Dust, not food, main source of lesser known flame retardants
...These results suggest that house dust is a significant contributor to human exposure to HBCDs. The use of HBCD-treated products, rather than industrial pollution, may thus contribute more importantly to human exposure. In addition, infants and toddlers may be at greatest risk of exposure because they crawl on floors and may increase their exposure due to hand-to-mouth behavior. While exposure to other persistent organic pollutants appear to occur primarily through food, this result is consistent with studies of other flame retardants, such as PBDEs, which suggest that the main exposure sources are located in homes and other indoor environments. ...


Does that mean the "three second rule" no longer applies?

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Mon, Jul 27, 2009
from Environmental Health News:
Polar bears on thinner ice
Longer ice-free seasons in the Canadian Arctic are leading to diet changes and increased contaminants in polar bears. Hudson Bay's polar bears are more contaminated with some pollutants now than in the past due to warmer temperatures that are melting ice sooner in the spring and forcing the bears to eat different food.... Fatty acid fingerprints revealed that the bears now eat more harbor and harp seals and fewer bearded seals than before. This shift in diet resulted in higher levels of PCBs and flame retardants (but not the pesticides DDT or chlordane) in their tissues. ...


I'll bet the bearded seals don't mind this change at all!

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Sat, Jul 18, 2009
from Wired:
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. "The more you eat, the more PBDEs you have in your serum," said Alicia Fraser, an environmental health researcher at Boston University's School of Public Health who headed the new study, published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives. PBDEs are chemical cousins of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which are known to cause birth defects and neurological impairments. PCBs were banned throughout the world by the mid-1970s, when PBDEs were gaining popularity as flame retardants. PBDEs were soon found in most plastic-containing household products. ...


PBDE: Peanut Butter & Deepfried Escargot.... Yum!!

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Wed, May 27, 2009
from Cape Cod Times:
Study links strandings to pollution
Cape Cod is one of the top areas in the world for marine mammal strandings. The animals are sometimes loaded with parasites or are sick. But, despite a long history of pollution in our coastal waters, the toll pollution takes on sea creatures has been harder to establish. In a study, recently published in the journal Environmental Pollution, Eric Montie, a University of South Florida scientist who did most of his research while a doctoral student at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, found high levels of man-made chemicals in the brains and fluid surrounding the brains of marine mammals. Scientists have known for a while that dangerous compounds like the pesticide DDT, the insulating material PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) and the flame retardant PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) accumulate in the fatty tissue of mammals, particularly top-of-the-food-chain predators that eat chemical-laden prey....Montie tested for the presence of 170 chemicals in brain and cerebrospinal fluid he'd collected from the stranded animals. He found exceptionally high levels of both the widely used flame retardant PBDE and a form of PCB. ...


And here we thought they were just looking for hamburgers & fries!

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Wed, May 20, 2009
from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, via EurekAlert:
Contaminants in marine mammals' brains
The most extensive study of pollutants in marine mammals' brains reveals that these animals are exposed to a hazardous cocktail of pesticides such as DDTs and PCBs, as well as emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants.... The chemicals studied include pesticides like DDT, which has been shown to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, and PCBs, which are neurotoxicants known to disrupt the thyroid hormone system. The study also quantifies concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs (a particular class of flame retardants), which are neurotoxicants that impair the development of motor activity and cognition. This work is the first to quantify concentrations of PBDEs in the brains of marine mammals. The results revealed that concentration of one contaminant was surprisingly high. According to Montie, "The biggest wakeup was that we found parts per million concentrations of hydroxylated PCBs in the cerebrospinal fluid of a gray seal. That is so worrisome for me. You rarely find parts per million levels of anything in the brain." ...


Now, why would marine mammals need flame retardants?

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Sat, May 2, 2009
from Los Angeles KABC:
Tests of women leaders show how toxins turn up in Americans' blood
We hear every day about dangerous chemicals in household products that are linked to cancer, infertility, autism and other diseases -- yet many Americans may not realize just how many of these harmful substances they've actually ingested in the course of everyday living. The answer? About 48. That's according [to] a study by the Environmental Working Group and Rachel's Network, in which five leading minority women environmentalists from different parts of the country volunteered to have their blood tested for toxins. The results, say EWG experts, show that regulation of chemicals in the U.S. is weak and "antiquated" and needs a major overhaul.... It found, in the aggregate, traces of 48 chemicals in the women, notably flame retardants (used to treat some furniture and clothing), synthetic fragrances (from body care products and perfumes), the plastics ingredient Bisphenol A (found in bottles, canned food liners and other products) and the rocket fuel perchlorate (which has been found in some drinking water). ...


Sounds like these gals contain a charming elixir!

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Thu, Apr 9, 2009
from Fort Myers WBBH TV:
Toxic dolphins worry environmentalists
Miami's iconic wild dolphins, especially those who live near downtown Miami, are chock full of toxins, according to a new government study. Scientists say they are so full of chemicals that they worry about their long-term survival, and also what the polluted water of Biscayne Bay may do to humans. Even the man of the sea himself, Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the famous Jacques Cousteau, is doing a PBS special on the potential disastrous fate of the dolphins. A toxic chemical called flame retardant, which is used on everything from curtains to computer cables, was found in very high levels in dolphin blubber, according to scientists who inspected dolphins in the area. The closer the dolphins were found near downtown, the higher the toxin levels. The toxins could render the dolphins sterile or worse, scientists say. ...


Wonder what's worse than being sterile?

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Thu, Apr 9, 2009
from Daily World (Washington):
Chemical found in mussels on Twin Harbors
Testing sites at the Westport jetty and at Nahcotta in Willapa Bay are among those that showed evidence of toxic chemicals used in fire retardants, according to a report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But the public does not have to be alarmed about the chemical entering the food supply, said Gunnar Lauenstein, a program manager for NOAA and one of the report's authors. The administration issued the nationwide report last week, which documented levels of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers -- a chemical present in many household products, including flame retardants.... Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are common in household products such as mattresses, computers and televisions. The chemical is thought to affect brain development and reproduction in humans and animals. The chemical accumulates in the fatty tissue of mussels, and scientists use the tissue to gauge how much of the chemical is in an area of coastal water.... Lauenstein added that although evidence of the chemical has been found, mussels are still safe for the public to eat. ...


I guess it's lucky that vertebrates don't have any fatty tissues!

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Wed, Apr 1, 2009
from NOAA, via EurekAlert:
NOAA report calls flame retardants concern to US coastal ecosystems
NOAA scientists, in a first-of-its-kind report issued today, state that Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), chemicals commonly used in commercial goods as flame retardants since the 1970s, are found in all United States coastal waters and the Great Lakes, with elevated levels near urban and industrial centers.... "This is a wake-up call for Americans concerned about the health of our coastal waters and their personal health," said John H. Dunnigan, NOAA assistant administrator of the National Ocean Service. "Scientific evidence strongly documents that these contaminants impact the food web and action is needed to reduce the threats posed to aquatic resources and human health." ...


Hey scientists: I don't want my coastal waters burning.

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Thu, Jan 15, 2009
from Seattle Times:
Scientists find contaminated orca food
The food supply of Puget Sound's endangered orcas is contaminated, a team of Canadian and Washington scientists has found. The scientists measured persistent organic pollution concentrations in chinook salmon in order to understand the orcas' exposure to contamination in their food supply. Orcas, or killer whales, are actually a type of dolphin, are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world, and are at risk of extinction in Puget Sound. The so-called southern resident population of orcas that frequents Puget Sound was listed as an endangered species by the federal government in November 2005. Southern resident orca whales seem to prefer chinook salmon for their diet — fish that the scientists found were contaminated with PCBs, flame retardants and other persistent chemicals that are retained in body fat. ...


A new kind of food chain: the pollution chain!

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Tue, Dec 9, 2008
from UC Davis, via EurekAlert:
Baby fish in polluted San Francisco estuary waters are stunted and deformed
Striped bass in the San Francisco Estuary are contaminated before birth with a toxic mix of pesticides, industrial chemicals and flame retardants that their mothers acquire from estuary waters and food sources and pass on to their eggs, say UC Davis researchers. Using new analytical techniques, the researchers found that offspring of estuary fish had underdeveloped brains, inadequate energy supplies and dysfunctional livers. They grew slower and were smaller than offspring of hatchery fish raised in clean water. "This is one of the first studies examining the effects of real-world contaminant mixtures on growth and development in wildlife," said study lead author David Ostrach, a research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the findings have implications far beyond fish, because the estuary is the water source for two-thirds of the people and most of the farms in California. "If the fish living in this water are not healthy and are passing on contaminants to their young, what is happening to the people who use the water, are exposed to the same chemicals or eat the fish?" Ostrach said. ...


Hmm: what is happening to the people? I, for one, feel stunted, and I'm not even in California!

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Thu, Nov 27, 2008
from Scientific American:
Troubled waters: striped bass moms pass on harmful pollutants to babies
...Striped bass and other fish have been dying in droves off the coast of San Francisco for decades; pollution from industry and agricultural runoff has long been blamed. Now a team of scientists from the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, San Diego, have fingered the killer contaminants. They found that wild female fish from the Sacramento River produced eggs containing a host of pollutants at levels high enough to cause biological harm. The list includes chemicals called PBDEs (flame retardants), PCBs (a known carcinogen banned in the 1979), and a slew of pesticides. They even found DDT, the infamous pesticide linked to cancer that was banned in 1972 after being indicted in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring). ...


This striped bass mom is the microcosm of the macro-contamination of Mother Earth herself.

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Sun, Nov 23, 2008
from Science News:
Is Your Fish Oil Polluted?
Diets rich in fish oil offer a number of health benefits, from fighting heart disease to boosting immunity. However, many noxious contaminants preferentially accumulate in fat. These include pesticides, brominated flame retardants, dioxins, and some related compounds known as polychlorinated biphenyls. So there's been some concern that if a fish was pulled from polluted waters, its fat might be polluted too. And those pollutants could end up an unwanted bonus in commercial fish-oil supplements. A new survey of some 154 different fish-oil capsules sold by 45 different companies now confirms that some supplements are remarkably dirty and others quite pure. In general, PCBs and a breakdown product of DDT were the major pollutants in fish-oil supplements. ...


Hey. What doesn't kill you ... might make you sick!

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Thu, Oct 2, 2008
from Environmental Research, via EurekAlert:
Six environmental research studies reveal critical health risks from plastic
Exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and flame retardants (PBDEs) are strongly associated with adverse health effects on humans and laboratory animals. A special section in the October 2008 issue of Environmental Research, "A Plastic World," provides critical new research on environmental contaminants and adverse reproductive and behavioral effects. Plastic products contain "endocrine disrupting chemicals" that can block the production of the male sex hormone testosterone (phthalates used in PVC plastic), mimic the action of the sex hormone estrogen (bisphenol A or BPA used in polycarbonate plastic), and interfere with thyroid hormone (brominated flame retardants or PBDEs used in many types of plastic). ...


I'm thinking wax paper, glass bottles, and stainless steel containers may be growth industries.

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Mon, Sep 8, 2008
from The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Certain flame retardants may make us sick
A common group of flame retardants used since the 1970s and credited with saving lives is proving to be a pervasive contaminant in the environment that may be harmful to human health. The chemicals were added to textiles, couches, carpet pads, mattresses, and the hard plastics in TVs, computers, and other electronic devices.... Health studies suggest that they may, at high levels of exposure, cause cancer. ...


The irony here is ... we're all going to burn up anyway!

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Mon, Sep 8, 2008
from The Australian:
Ergon Energy uniforms 'making workers sick'
ENERGY workers are breaking out in blisters and vomiting after wearing potentially toxic uniforms. At least 143 Ergon Energy workers in Queensland have suffered severe allergic reactions to the flame-retardant uniforms recently rolled out to the state's 3400-strong workforce at a cost of about $3.5 million.... Workers also claim the Chinese-made uniforms release a yellow, bubbling substance when ironed that causes nausea and vomiting. ...


That's dressing for success.

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Sat, Aug 9, 2008
from Toronto Globe and Mail:
No matter what flame retardant is used, it shows up in the environment
"Another chapter has been added to the troubled history of flame retardants. The latest compounds used to reduce the risk of fire have been found in household dust for the first time. First, there were polychlorinated biphenyls, which were banned in the 1970s when it became clear that they were highly toxic and were accumulating in people and wildlife. PCBs were replaced by PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), which were used in a wide array of consumer products, including televisions and baby clothing. But then those also showed up in wildlife, including whales in the Arctic." ...


Ultimately, wouldn't it be safer to occasionally burn up in a fire than to be poisoned by flame retardants?

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Fri, Jul 25, 2008
from Downey Patriot:
Getting rid of your TV and a tsunami of waste
[T]he biggest loser to the great HDTV switchover could be our environment. Solid waste managers worry that consumers will opt for HDTV en masse, consigning perfectly good analog TVs to the U.S. waste stream. Eighty to 200 million televisions could be discarded over the next 30 months.... Picture tubes hold up to eight pounds of toxic lead, while television plastic casings contain cancer-causing flame retardants. Other TV toxins can include cadmium, mercury, chromium, beryllium and arsenic. If not recycled, toxic TVs can poison people, soils and groundwater. ...


But hey, we'll be able to watch the devolution in high def!

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Sun, Jul 13, 2008
from Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Hazardous flame retardant found in household objects
"A flame retardant that was taken out of children's pajamas more than 30 years ago after it was found to cause cancer is being used with increasing regularity in furniture, paint -- even baby carriers and bassinets -- and manufacturers are under no obligation to let the public know about it... [The EPA] Web site lists 16 studies that each conclude the chemical does not harm people. The Journal Sentinel examined those studies and found that all were funded by chemical-makers..." ...


Makes ya wonder: whose environment is the EPA protecting?

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Fri, Jun 20, 2008
from Bellevue Intelligencer (Canada):
Electronics wasteland: 91,000 tonnes of electronic waste in Ontario each year
Lead, flame retardants, mercury, cadmium, chromium, beryllium: many consumers would be surprised to learn that a desktop computer contains all of these potentially toxic substances. But ensuring your unwanted electronics are disposed of safely isn't always an easy task.... This means obsolete and unwanted electronics -- and all the associated toxic substances -- often end up in the dump for lack of an easy alternative. ...


All of 12 million people in Ontario.
That's about, oh, 2/3 of greater NYC..

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Sat, May 10, 2008
from Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Contamination is linked to dust from TV sets
"Common household dust has long been known to carry pesticides, allergens and other irritants.... Now, a study by researchers at Boston University's School of Public Health appears to have pinpointed the largest source of chemical flame retardants as the dust on television sets. ...


So the boob tube truly has been killing us all along.

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Thu, May 8, 2008
from San Francisco Chronicle:
Flame retardant found in peregrine falcon eggs
"The eggs of peregrine falcons living in California's big cities contain some of the highest levels ever found in wildlife of a flame retardant used in consumer products, a new study has found. Studies of peregrine falcon eggs and chicks by state scientists reveal that the birds hunting in San Francisco, Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego are ingesting the flame retardant called PBDEs, believed to leach out of foam mattresses, synthetic fabrics, plastic casings of televisions, electronics and other products. The research shows that the indoor chemicals can contaminate the outdoors and even humans." ...


Arguably, it would be better to go up in flames, than ingest such toxins.

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Fri, Apr 18, 2008
from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
High levels of household chemicals found in pets
"We bred them to protect us and warn us of impending trouble. According to a new report, our pets are doing their job. The Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental watchdog group, released a study Thursday showing that dogs and cats are carrying heavy burdens of many household chemicals - flame retardants, plasticizers and stain-resisting chemicals - in their blood and urine. ...


You mean my little mutt is a walking time bomb?

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Thu, Apr 17, 2008
from Environmental Science & Technology:
PFOS alters immune response at very low exposure levels
"Perfluorinated compounds previously in stain repellents may be affecting the human immune system, according to new research published in Toxicological Sciences (2008, DOI 10.1093/toxsci/kfn059). After studying mice orally exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) daily for 28 days, a group of researchers observed that the animals' immune systems were affected at much lower levels than ever reported....PFOS is no longer being produced. Its manufacturer, 3M, agreed to phase out production by 2002. But it remains a persistent, global contaminant." ...


Those PFOS can be a mo-fo.

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Thu, Apr 3, 2008
from Nature:
EPA feels heat over flame retardant
"A much-anticipated report on the health hazards of a ubiquitous flame retardant has been delayed amid controversy over the removal of a respected toxicologist from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory panel reviewing the report. The report, which was due last week, is expected to mount pressure on the chemical industry to ban decabrominated diphenyl ether (deca-BDE), which is used as a flame retardant in furniture, carpets, and televisions and other electronic goods. The EPA has delayed its release by a month and experts tracking the issue expect further delays." ...


Now who's being a retardant?

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Mon, Mar 10, 2008
from mlive.com:
Great Lakes fish soak in new poison
"Toxic flame retardants commonly used in computers, televisions and textiles have accumulated dramatically in Great Lakes fish over the past two decades, prompting legislative efforts to ban the compounds. The state Legislature in 2004 banned two types of the flame retardants, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Michigan was one of several states to ban the manufacture, use or distribution of penta-BDE and octa-BDE. But a third type of the chemical, deca-BDE, is still widely used and can break down into the more toxic forms of PBDEs. Environmental activists and some scientists are pushing for a ban on deca-BDE, a persistent toxin that accumulates in the food chain....The Michigan Chemistry Council and the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs oppose banning deca-BDE. "Right now, we feel that the science has not justified the banning of deca-BDE," said Jerry Howell, chief executive officer of the Michigan Chemistry Council. ...


Client: "Flame Retardant?!" Madge: "You're soaking in it!"

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Tue, Feb 26, 2008
from Jackson Hole Star Tribune:
Embattled ag undersecretary makes no apologies for timber policies
"He overhauled federal forest policy to cut more trees -- and became a lightning rod for environmentalists who say he is intent on logging every tree in his reach. After nearly seven years in office, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey still has a long to-do list. Near the top: Persuade a federal judge to keep him out of jail ... A Montana judge, accusing Rey of deliberately skirting the law so the Forest Service can keep fighting wildfires with a flame retardant that kills fish, has threatened to put him behind bars." ...


Rey's main accomplishment is the 2003 Healthy Forests Restoration Act. If he does go to jail, let's call it the 2008 Celebrating Freedom Act.

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Sun, Feb 10, 2008
from Times Colonist:
Killer whales loaded with fire retardant
"They wow tourists and remind people of the mysteries and majesty of the ocean, but killer whales swimming around the waters of Vancouver Island are the most contaminated animals on Earth...Blubber studies on the two salmon-eating populations of resident killer whales -- the endangered southern residents with 88 members and the threatened northern residents with 230 members -- have found a significant buildup of toxins in their systems....A growing concern is the rapid buildup of PBDEs, the chemicals found in fire retardants..." ...


What's more "killer" than a killer whale? You guessed it: human-made chemicals!

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Tue, Jan 29, 2008
from National Geographic News:
Flame Retardants Found in Rare Tasmanian Devils
"Flame retardants that are suspected carcinogens have been found in some of Australia's Tasmanian devils, researchers announced last week. The find triggered local media reports suggesting that the chemicals might be linked to the mysterious cancer that has been killing the rare marsupials for more than a decade. A study conducted by the Australian government's National Measurement Institute ... found "high" levels of hexabromobiphenyl ether and "reasonably high" levels of decabromobiphenyl ether�chemicals used to treat electronics, textiles, and furniture." ...


Bugs Bunny was reported to have assisted the scientists in their study with his constant refrain of "What's up, Docs?"

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