That old easy chair or couch could be hazardous to your family’s health
Could your kids or grandkids suffer brain damage just from sitting on your couch?
Or how about that old easy chair that’s been in your home since “I Love Lucy” was on the air — or that mattress you keep saying you’re going to replace one day?
Those comfy, old home furnishings may bring back lots of memories — but they also may be coated in one of the most toxic flame retardants ever invented.
An Ivy League research team is warning that many of the products sitting in our homes — especially our furniture — may be soaked in dangerous brominated flame retardants called PBDEs.
These PBDEs may be unleashing an epidemic of developmental problems our kids and grandkids could be fighting for the rest of their lives.
And the sooner you evict PBDEs from your home, the better for you — and the children you love.
A study a couple years back found that nearly every American adult tested had detectable levels of PBDEs. And that’s because, from the 1970s until just a couple years ago, this toxic flame retardant was used on just about everything.
It was sprayed onto carpet padding, upholstery, the foam inside home furniture, the plastic housing for TVs and computers, and dozens of other products that are probably in your home right now.
And it turns out these PBDEs may be poisoning our kids’ and grandkids’ brains — in some cases, before they’re even born.
A new study from Columbia University found for the first time that prenatal exposure to these chemicals can cause serious ADHD-like problems in young children. And because PBDEs are still in our homes — and in our blood — you can bet this is a problem that’s affecting millions of kids.
I’m talking about children who are developing hyperactivity, impulsive behavior and an inability to pay attention.
Can you believe it? These are the exact same symptoms for which millions of school children are being given dangerous drugs every single day!
But, trust me, as dangerous as PBDEs are for our kids and grandkids, they don’t get any safer as you get older. Spend too much time around PBDEs and you could end up with thyroid disease, hormone disorders, and even liver cancer!
And limiting your exposure is harder than you might think (I’ll give you some tips in a moment). That’s because PBDEs don’t chemically bind to the products they’re used on — they’re basically just sprayed on the surface and can easily end up in the air, on the floor, or just about anywhere else.
In fact, every time you sit down on a couch or chair that was made with a PBDE, you release a tiny bit more of it into the room. Indoor dust, in fact, is said to be our main source of exposure.
The EPA has known about the risks of PBDEs for decades — but you know by now that our government moves about as fast as a glacier.
PBDEs were just phased out in foam products — like couch and chair cushions and mattresses — in 2004, which means plenty of us still have furniture covered in these chemicals. And the kinds of PBDEs used in electronics were manufactured until just two years ago!
That old couch your grandkids plop down on to take a nap might be one of the most dangerous things in your home. If you ever needed any incentive to update your furnishings, this should be it.
Now, while you may not be able to rid your home entirely of these chemicals, there are some steps you can take to make things safer for you and your family right now.
- Make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter, which will trap PBDE dust.
- Buy a HEPA air filter, which will also help pull more PBDEs out of your home.
- If you’re pulling up carpeting, wear a mask, keep kids away from the area and vacuum carefully afterwards. Padding under old carpeting is comprised of scrap foam and was most likely treated with PBDE.
- And most important, couches and chairs — actually anything with a foam cushion — made before 2005 should be replaced. So should mattresses, and especially crib mattresses.
Sources:
“Exposure to common flame retardants may contribute to attention problems in children”
October 7, 2015, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, eurekalert.org
