On December 15, 2009, legislation to phase out the fire retardant named Decabromodiphenylether (or Deca for short) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Chellie Pingree (D-Maine). This Decabrominated Elimination and Control Act would ban Deca in all products by the end of 2013. Two days later, three large chemical companies (Chemtura, Albermarle, and ICL Industrial Products) and officials of the EPA agreed on a deal to phase out the use of Deca by the end of 2012, a full year before the ban. Deca is heavily used in consumer electronics, wires/cables, and furniture, and is a potent neurotoxin and possible carcinogen. It is also suspected of breaking down into other toxic chemicals that have been found contaminating animals and humans all over the globe.
PBDEs are structurally related to PCBs, which were banned decades ago in the U.S. PBDE levels in the U.S. population are found to be 10-100 times higher than levels observed in Europe, Asia, and New Zealand.
Until 2013, you can try to reduce your family’s exposure to Deca and other flame retardents (PBDE’s) by taking a look at the EWG’s three tips.
Sites worth visiting:
- Fire retardants three times higher in toddlers than mothers: http://www.ewg.org/reports/pbdesintoddlers
- http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/pbde/brief.cfm
- http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/2009/12/flame-retardant-may-flame-out/
