U.S. agency struggles with regulating flame retardants

Abstract

From laptop computers to babies’ high chairs, hundreds of everyday household goods contain chemicals intentionally added to prevent or slow the items from igniting. These compounds can end up in a home’s dust and ingested by children and adults. Federal biomonitoring data show that most U.S. residents have measurable quantities of flame-retardant metabolites in their blood. This finding raises red flags because many commonly used flame retardants are linked to health concerns, including endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, cancer, and developmental defects. To protect consumers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is struggling with whether to ban an entire class of these substances: organohalogen flame retardants. CPSC, a federal agency with fewer than 600 employees, has never before considered regulating an entire category of chemicals. Meanwhile, flame-retardant manufacturers and electronics makers are dead set against a ban of all the dozens of organohalogens used in consumer pr...