As the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently reminded us, a new mattress flammability standard will go into effect on July 1. And as it does, we feel compelled to ask: have we been preventing fires in ways that contaminate ourselves, our homes, and the environment with hazardous chemicals? 

Several studies published in Environmental Science and Technology add to the growing evidence that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a common group of flame retardants, are moving from mattresses and upholstery to indoor air, drinking water, the food chain, and our bodies.   

American blood and breast milk have some of the highest average measured amounts of PBDEs in the world. That’s probably because we’re exposed to large quantities of these flame retardants in electronics, foam furniture, and cars with PBDE-treated plastics and upholstery. 

The compounds are so persistent in the environment that they’re showing up in arctic polar bears (who already have enough to worry about what with the ice cap melting). The most persistent compounds are also the most toxic. Studies in lab animals suggest that PBDEs can affect thyroid function, fetal and child development, fertility, and liver function. Some PBDE compounds have been classified as potential carcinogens. 

That doesn’t mean we need to give up on stronger fire-protection standards. The Association of State Fire Marshals estimates that upholstered furniture accounts for some 20 percent of all fire-related deaths each year, killing 10 people a week. 

There are effective alternatives to PBDEs, and manufacturers here and in Europe are beginning to turn to them as federal and state governments initiate phase outs or bans of certain PBDE compounds. Some scientists are already seeing an impact, finding lower levels of PBDEs in air samples from spaces whose furnishings use alternative flame retardants. 

As often happens in this country, state regulators lead the way. The new mattress rules were based on California's stronger mattress flammability standards. Recently, Washington State tentatively voted to ban deca-brominated diphenyl ether (DBDE) by 2011. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has effectively banned two PBDEs and is considering doing the same with DBDE. 

But the EPA is waiting to act on DBDE until the CPSC issues a standard for furniture other than mattresses, and there’s no telling when that will happen. It’s been 13 years since the CPSC initiated rulemaking on furniture flammability, and they’re still studying the issue. 

We’re looking to the CPSC to break the logjam and achieve effective fire protection at the federal level that doesn’t threaten human and environmental health.

See also:

• New mattress-flammability standard to go into effect 
• Mattress-flammability standard approved 
• Tougher fire-safety standard for mattresses