Flame retardants banned years ago finally declining in women, study suggests

Scientists have documented for the first time that banned flame retardants have declined in people in the United States, where levels of the chemicals had been growing exponentially.

The small study, published today, reported that levels in pregnant California women were 65 percent lower than in a similar group of women tested three years earlier.

Flame retardants from furniture accumulate in dust so small children can be highly exposed. The two flame retardants have been banned in the United States since 2004. But many experts have been concerned about their persistence because they break down slowly in human tissues and were widely used in products, such as sofas, that people keep for many years.

Our study is the first to look at the potential impacts of the ban on chemical body burden in the blood of U.S. residents," said Ami Zota, a reproductive health scientist at George Washington University and lead author of the study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. “I think the takeaway is that chemical regulations matter. They can have an impact on individual lives.”

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