“What are flame retardants?”

Moms reading my book have recently e-mailed me with lots of questions about brominated flame retardants (PBDEs). PBDEs are compounds used as flame-retardants in everything from our children’s pajamas, computers, television sets, upholstery, rugs, draperies, and car interiors. As products that contain PBDEs age and breakdown, these chemical mixtures seep into the environment. In my book I clump them together with PCBS which were banned in this country in 1977. Although PCBs are steadily declining in our fatty tissues, they are rapidly being replaced by flame retardants, which some reporters go so far as to call “the next PCB.” Like PCBs, flame retardants stick around in the environment for a long time, can travel far, and accumulate in the fat and tissue of humans, animals and fish.