Study Finds Black Children Have High Levels of Flame Retardant Chemicals in Their Systems
Filed in Research & Studies on May 31, 2012
A new study led by Heather Stapleton, an assistant professor of environmental chemistry at Duke University, has found that African American children have significantly higher levels of toxic flame retardants in their systems than White children. The study found polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the systems of all children tested. But the levels were, on average, twice as high in Black children as they were in White children.
Flame retardant chemicals were added to cushions of furniture and other household products. Some of the more dangerous chemicals have been banned but high levels of the retardants remain in older furniture built before the bans went into effect. Older furniture is more likely to be found in the homes of lower-income and minority families.
The study was published on the website of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Flame- retardant baby clothing ,especially the one piece sleeper , is the main culprit — many African American , Latino and poor whites purchase their children’s clothing without looking at the content labels they are looking at the price –27 years ago or more, this information came out -that the one piece treated sleepers for children were estrogen disruptors yet it was – greatly ill-advised to purchase the pure cotton sleepers — the lengths these companies will go to to sell their chemicals –sad.