Flame retardant

Flame retardants rely on chemical reactions that counteract or inhibit the flammability of treated products. Since the 1970s, they have been applied to textiles, foam in couches and baby products, building insulation, carpets, drapes, personal computers, TV sets, car dashboards, electrical cables and many other products.

The brominated and chlorinated flame retardants commonly found in consumer goods belong to a class of chemicals called semi-volatile organic compounds. Because they are not chemically bound to material but incorporated during manufacturing or sprayed on afterward, they routinely escape as vapor or airborne particles that tend to stick to surfaces or settle in dust. Friction and heat generated through normal use of a product — sitting on a couch, for example, or watching TV — can accelerate their release.

They can also escape during production or when treated products are recycled or disposed of in landfills or incinerators. Once released, they can build up in sewage sludge, soil and sediments. Scientists have detected flame retardants hundreds of miles from human sources, including in the tissue of sperm whales, which spend most of their time in deep ocean waters, and of Arctic marine mammals,, suggesting long-distance transport by water and air currents.