|  | Family Health | Childrens Health

Problems With Flame-Retardant Children's Clothing

Flame-retardant children's clothing exposes children to chemicals that are known to cause serious health problems in laboratory animals. The issue first came to light in the 1970s when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned one class of flame retardants. In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered a phase-out ban for another class of chemicals.

  1. Tris

    • In the 1960s and 1970s, children's sleepwear was treated with brominated and chlorinated tris phosphate (Tris). The CPSC banned the use of Tris in 1977 after it was found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Chemical companies then began producing and marketing a new class of flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

    PBDEs

    • PBDEs are flame retardants used in textiles, furniture, electronics and children's sleepwear. They are effective flame retardants because the chemicals interfere with combustion, delaying the start of a flame and helping to prevent fire from spreading once it does ignite.

      The only PBDE used in the United States in 2011 is DecaBDE. After years of study, the EPA determined that PBDEs are unsafe and negotiated a phase-out plan with the two U.S. manufacturers who produce the chemical. DecaBDE will no longer be used in any product in the United States by the end of 2013.

    Health Risks

    • In 2010, the EPA reported that animal studies showed a link between PBDEs and developmental, reproductive, liver and thyroid toxicity, developmental neurotoxicity and carcinogenic potential. Humans and animals have no way to rid their bodies of these chemicals, which build up over a lifetime. Children are exposed not only by wearing PBDE-treated fabric, but also from ingesting it by mouthing or sucking on the fabric.

    Another Option

    • Most of the PBDEs in children's clothing are used in sleepwear. If pajamas are made of synthetic materials, they contain flame-retardant chemicals. Some natural-fiber pajamas may also be treated with PBDEs or other chemicals. You can avoid flame retardants by buying natural-fiber pajamas with tags stating that the item must be snug-fitting or that it isn't flame-resistant. Snug-fitting pajamas offer protection because they don't have extra fabric that can ignite, nor do they have air pockets between loose-fitting clothing and the child's skin that promote the spread of fire.

Childrens Health - Related Articles