Infertility, Delayed Conception Linked to Fire Retardants in Homes
by A recent study from the University of California, Berkeley, revealed women with higher percentages of flame retardant chemicals in their blood took twice as long to conceive than women with lowest or no levels. This study opens up the investigation of the impact of untested chemicals on the over-all increase of fertility issues in the U.S. population.
The chemicals of focus are called poly-brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and are routinely used in everything from your furniture, electronics, carpets and kids’ sleeping wear and comforters, for the purpose of fire resistance. While animal studies have already shown the hormonal and fertility impacts of PBDEs, no significant human study on the impacts was conducted prior to this one. This study, conducted with 223 women, found
that 97% did in fact show evidence of the PBDEs in their blood, typical of Americans due to the widespread use and even manufacturing mandates of the use of these chemicals for fire resistance.
The level of the compounds found in the blood was found to be predictably associated with ease or difficulty in conceiving; those with lower levels attained pregnancy soonest, and those with the highest took longer, with 15% of the women (representing those with the highest concentration of the PBDEs in their systems) trying for more than a year.
The researchers of this study conclude that further study on the wider population needs to be continued, accounting also for the fathers’ exposure, and whether or not that impacts the sperm. As for how these toxins affect the babies that are conceived, read “Fire Retardants Found in Babies’ Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays” for the results of a recent Columbia University study detecting the fire retardants in umbilical cord blood.
Though a couple of the compounds have been outlawed in recent years, two factors make this change almost useless: 1) the real danger is when the products coated with them age and release the compounds into the air we breathe; risk from those chemicals is not only still around, it increases as the household items age. 2) While they have been replaced with new compounds, those have not been tested to determine if they are any safer.
Ways to a pregnant women, or woman wanting to become pregnant to reduce her exposure harmful fire retardants:
1) When purchasing anew furniture, ask if the manufacturer uses a chemical coating
2) Get rid of items known to contain the chemicals because as they age, risk of inhaling the compounds as they break down increases.
3) Buy furniture made of wool, cotton and hemp, which are naturally fire-resistant. (Synthetic fibers, often made of plastics, such as polyester, are highly flammable, and must be treated with fire resistant chemicals for sale to the public.)
4) Send a letter to your representatives through the Environmental Defense fund: edf.org/chemicalsafety
5) Check out saferchemcials.org for news on pending legislation about chemicals.
Other articles of possible interest:
Firefighters Fight to Rid Kids’ Sleepwear, Baby Gear, Furniture of Toxic Flame Resistant Chemicals
Cell Tower Radiation of No Concern for Pregnant Mothers or Childhood Cancer?
Postpartum Depression, Psychological Distress Predicted by Previous Traumatic Birth
Sources:
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.0901450
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/flame-retardants-and-human-fertility
Ellings, Amy. “Staying Safe in a Toxic World.” Parents, August 2010
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