Studying a "Hot" Environmental Issue

There is strong evidence that fire preventing chemicals known as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are increasingly present in the environment and in humans. These chemicals are used routinely in consumer products such as upholstered furniture, electronic equipment, and clothing to reduce fire-related injuries and property damage. "We know that these industrial chemicals prevent fires and save lives, but they are also escaping into the environment, and we are finding them in our bodies," said Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., an EPA Division Director in Research Triangle Park, NC. "We also know that high levels of these chemicals in animals can cause developmental, reproductive, and neurological damage, as well as endocrine disruption, but little is known about how they impact people."

To better understand the human health implications of exposure to these chemicals, scientists in EPA's Human Health Research Program in the Office of Research and Development are studying a sub class of BFRs called polybrominated diphenylethers. There is growing evidence that these chemicals persist in the environment and can accumulate in the body, and, thus, they are being discussed by scientists as emerging pollutants.

"This science has provided a firm foundation to reduce exposure to BFRs," said Leif Magnuson, Pollution Prevention Coordinator at EPA's regional office in San Francisco. "It has led the California state legislature to ban two specific flame retardants and to a voluntary industry withdrawal nationally, negotiated by EPA."

The EPA is working with industry, environmental and public health groups, among others, to answer key questions and provide a basis for understanding the potential public health risks of flame retardants. For example, researchers suspect that BFRs can build up in house dust, which is inhaled and ingested easily and, potentially, a route for exposure.

Preliminary research results have shown that the substances do indeed move readily from consumer products to house dust. Additionally, when house dust is eaten by laboratory rats, the chemicals are clearly taken up by the animals.

Because of their persistence, and despite their usefulness in fighting fires, further monitoring is necessary to determine how and where BFRs enter the environment and whether they negatively impact human health.

Studying a "Hot" Environmental Issue

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