By Mina Kim, KQED
A new study finds flame retardants -- chemicals used to make household items more fire resistant -- are linked to lower IQs and poorer coordination in children.
The UC Berkeley study focuses on the effects of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs). That's a class of chemicals that was widely used in California in furniture, baby products and electronics, until they were phased out in 2004 out of concerns they were toxic.
Still, the flame retardant continues to leech out of older household products said the study's lead author Brenda Eskanazi. She's a professor of maternal and child health at UC Berkeley.
“The couch that I own was purchased before 2004,” Eskanazi said. “As the foam in the couch disintegrates, the PBDEs will enter into the dust particles, and if I had a child that was crawling on the floor, that child will be exposed to that dust.”