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BY Tali Aaron : March 11

Flame Retardants: Poisoning Children to Keep Them Fire-Safe

Fire


It's bad when kids die in fires. Unfortunately, lots of them do. That's why, over the years, regulations have required flame retardants in more and more products meant for children, from mattresses to outerwear - especially in California, where fire-proofing for infants became something of an obsession.

Unfortunately, many fire retardants are also toxic. They're particularly bad for kids, since they're thought to be a culprit in neuro-developmental problems. So what's a parent - or other human being - to do?

Dr. Heather Stapleton of Duke University says replacement fire retardants under consideration aren't much better than the chemicals currently in wide use, and recently bought her son an organic mattress. Greenpeace's Casey Harrell commends home detox efforts, but says the only real solution is to ban the chemicals outright. Harrell says she tested 100 homes, and found toxins in all of them, in products from cookware to electronics to mattresses.

As to that little fire problem, test the smoke detector, and have an escape plan. Both these measures are credited with better fire-safety outcomes, and neither is likely to kill you another way.

Recommended for Further Reading:

Posted in: Environment, Policies Regulations
Tags: fire retardant (5)   Environment (308)   fire (9)   casas hybridcore (3)   toxic (8)   eco (405)   health (26)   Green (549)   regulations (19)   
First Published: March 11, 2010 at 10:00 am

8 Responses to Flame Retardants: Poisoning Children to Keep Them Fire-Safe

  2. buildaroo on April 23, 2012 at 10:51 pm


    Flame Retardants: Poisoning Children to Keep Them Fire-Safe http://t.co/iPtvMZLe #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  3. buildaroo on February 21, 2011 at 3:17 am


    Flame Retardants: Poisoning Children to Keep Them Fire-Safe http://bit.ly/crL1G0 #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  4. Herbal Essences Shampoo – Flowers, Herbs, and Carcinogens? | Tech News, Reviews, Business, Health News and More on March 29, 2010 at 2:19 am


    [...] Rail Network Connecting China to EuropeChina Unveils World’s Fastest High Speed TrainFlame Retardants: Poisoning Children to Keep Them Fire-SafeRelated itemsL.A. to Launch RecycleBank Program in AprilFlame Retardants: Poisoning [...]

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  5. michael kloefkorn on March 12, 2010 at 1:39 am


    RT @buildaroo: We gotta do something! Flame Retardants Poison us&our children http://bit.ly/crL1G0

    Reply
  6. Ecojustice Canada on March 11, 2010 at 9:15 pm


    RT @buildaroo: Flame Retardants: Poison to ourselves & our children. http://bit.ly/crL1G0 #green #eco #health #environment #greenbuilding

    Reply
  7. Living Greener Life on March 11, 2010 at 6:21 pm


    RT @buildaroo: Flame Retardants poison children to keep them fire safe http://bit.ly/crL1G0 #green #eco #health #environment #greenbuilding

    Reply
  8. uberVU - social comments on March 11, 2010 at 4:19 pm


    Social comments and analytics for this post...

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by buildaroo: Flame Retardants poison children to keep them fire safe http://bit.ly/crL1G0 #green #eco #health #environment #greenbuilding...

    Reply
  9. livegreenerlife on March 11, 2010 at 6:21 pm


    RT @buildaroo: Flame Retardants poison children to keep them fire safe http://buildaroo.com/news/article/flame-... #green #eco #health #environment #greenbuilding

    Reply

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