INTERIOR CAR FUMES - WHAT ARE PBDEs?

 

• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants added in large amounts to many products such as fabrics, plastics, furniture, mattresses, electronics, automobiles and computers. United States chemical makers have not stopped making the most heavily used form— deca-BDE (Deca).

 

• PBDE’s are not chemically bound to plastic or fabric, so they are released as dust or vapors over the lifetime of the product.  There is strong scientific evidence that levels of PBDEs are rising rapidly in the environment, in the food chain and in human bodies. They are highly toxic even at low levels in laboratory animals.

 

• PBDEs impair memory, learning and behavior in laboratory animals at very low levels. They also affect thyroid hormones and other bodily functions. Those at highest risk include developing fetuses, infants and young children.  DECA, a type of PBDE, passes through the placenta to contaminate the cord blood, fetus and unborn child – where it has the potential to cause neurodevelopmental effects.

 

Alternatives

• Buildings, transportation vehicles and products can be kept safe from fires without using harmful chemicals that build up in our bodies and the environment. Stringent fire safety codes can be met by:

 

·         Using naturally flame-resistant materials such as plastics containing sulfur, preceramic polymers and aramide blends (like Kevlar).

 

·         Using safer flame retardant chemicals such as aluminum trihydroxide, ammonium polyphosphate and red phosphorus.

 

• Many companies such as Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Ikea, Panasonic, Sony, NEC and others have eliminated PBDEs in their products.  Contact your auto dealer today and demand healthy alternatives.

 

·         Studies in wildlife have shown that PBDE levels are rising at alarming rates, doubling every one to five years. High levels have been documented in studies of orca whales, salmon, peregrine falcons, terns, osprey and other wildlife.

 

·         PBDEs have been found in the breast milk of ALL women who have ever been tested.  Levels of these chemicals found in the breast milk of American women and some fetuses are approaching levels shown to impair learning and cause behavioral problems in lab mice.

 

·         PBDEs contaminate everyday foods bought at the supermarket, including certain meat, dairy, and fish products.  

 

·         PBDEs are a major contaminant in indoor dust.  It is present in all indoor environments; where we live, work, drive, play, worship, entertain, take care of kids, etc.

 

·         Deca breaks down rapidly in the sunlit environment into other more toxic bioaccumulative forms of PBDEs. This makes automobile interiors particularly vulnerable, since they can be exposed to many times the solar radiation of homes and office environments. The toxic chemicals released after DECA breaks down include the other PBDEs that have already been banned in California, Maine, New York, Michigan and Europe. 

 

SOURCE:  Ecology Center January 11, 2006 Report