Chemicals used as fire retardants could be harmful, UC-Riverside resea...(ci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstra...)

At present, one more mass-produced chemical is finding its way into our bodies one with features similar to a banned substance, Coburn said. This in itself should be cause for concern, given that low level concentrations of hundreds of man-made compounds have been found in the human body and may act cooperatively to produce harmful health effects.

Curras-Collazo is urging more research funding into the short- and long-term toxicity of PBDEs.

Due in part to our lifestyles electronic equipment, car and airplane travel, computers PBDEs bioaccumulate, increasing their concentration in human and animal tissues over time, she said. They are difficult to get rid of, persisting in the environment and in our bodies.

In the United States, 80-90 percent of industrial chemicals destined for use in commercial products are sold without any legally required premarket testing.

We need a different legal strategy, said Carl Cranor, a professor of philosophy at UCR who researches legal philosophy, regulatory policy and philosophic issues in science and the law. Unauthorized chemical invasions usurp important decisions over which, at a minimum, citizens should have considerable collective control. Invasions that also pose risks or harm are additional wrongs.

With the help of funding from the University of California Toxic Substances Research and Teaching Program
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