It seems these days like killer toxins are lurking in every corner of your home, office or school. Here's another finding to fuel your paranoia -- a fire retardant used in many couches called PBDE has been linked to lots of problems, including cancer and autism in children. While PBDEs aren't used in sofas any more, chances are you have an older sofa in your house -- I know I do. What's more, a different fire retardant chemical, called Tris, is replacing PBDEs in furniture, and it's been shown to be just as deadly. What can we do, aside from building our own furniture, to escape the onslaught of harmful toxins in our home? Or is it something we should even be concerned about in the first place?
1. Thanks for bringing up PBDE's. If we do not find these concerning enough for ourselves, we should avoid PBDE(polybrominated-diphenyl ether)-treated plastics for the sake of firefighters. When burned, PBDE's release very toxic, carcinogenic compounds. Fire-fighters already have an elevated risk of developing several cancers including those of the brain, kidney, bladder, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma and leukemia -- lets help them out where we can!
Lynne Eldridge MD
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time: Practical Advice for Preventing Cancer"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
Posted at 2:28PM on Aug 30th 2007 by Lynne Eldridge M.D.