Pollution in People

IN THIS SECTION

Project Participants

Michigan Overview

The Chemicals Tested & National Results

Additional Resources

PROFILES OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS:


Donele Wilkins	Payton Wilkins	Laura Varon Brown	Terry Brown	Bryan Brown

Click an image to learn about these five participants.

Donele Wilkins, 48, is co-founder and Executive Director of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ), a non-profit organization that addresses urban environmental issues in Detroit. Ms. Wilkins is a public speaker on topics including environmental justice and community-driven sustainable development. She is a mom of two (including Payton, below), which motivates her to change conditions in her community. She was instrumental to DWEJ's success in shutting down Henry Ford Hospital's Incinerator. We found four phthalates and seven PBDEs in Donele’s body, as well as bisphenol A in her urine.

"Industrial chemicals have no place in our bodies. Moreover, there are far too many people -- too often people of color and poor people -- who suffer disproportionately from environmental pollution. Now we know we're getting it from inside our homes as well as outside. We refuse to be guinea pigs in a massive, uncontrolled experiment, especially when a few people are making a lot of money off selling products that have these toxics in them."

Payton Wilkins, 18, is a senior at Consortium College Preparatory Academy in Detroit, and his favorite subjects are literature and gym. He enjoys painting, and was a member of the youth team that painted the mural at the new Boll Family YMCA in downtown Detroit. Payton coordinates Youth on Patrol Against Pollution under Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (run by his mother). He aspires to become an entrepreneur and to develop and expand his artistic interests, which include acting. We found four phthalates and seven PBDEs in Payton’s body, as well as bisphenol A in his urine.

"I just turned 18 and it's simply not fair that my body has already built up toxic chemicals. I want to live a healthy long life. I've got things to do and places to go. But what are my chances when I've got these chemicals that are known to be toxic in my body? It pisses me off even more to think that I've been soaking up chemicals from the incinerator all my life. What is all this going to do to me?"

Laura Varon Brown, 46, developed and edits “Twist”, a Sunday newsmagazine of the Detroit Free Press for and about women. Her prior work for the Free Press – where she has worked since 1990 – includes serving as Metro Editor. She has a certificate in Journalism Law from the Detroit College of Law. Above all, she believes that what matters most is motherhood. Ms. Varon Brown – of no relation to Rep. or Bryan Brown - lives in Bloomfield Township with her husband and three children. We found four phthalates and seven PBDEs in Laura’s body, as well as bisphenol A in her urine.

"I came into the project a bit of a skeptic about toxic chemicals and the role they play in our every day products and environment. I am really hoping that the awareness this report brings will lead to better disclosure of what's in our containers, furniture and the goods we use every day. Environmental concerns span much deeper than recycling and the gas mileage. That was the biggest eye-opener for me."

Terry Brown, 48, was elected State Representative from Michigan's 84th District in 2006. His prior work includes serving as principal/supervisor of a school for children with significant cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral issues. Rep. Brown also worked for many years as a school social worker. He helped promote Michigan's use of renewable energy. He enjoys hockey, hunting, fishing, and scuba diving, and has served on the Huron Sheriff Department's rescue team. He lives in Pigeon with his wife Carol, their son Bryan Brown, and two older children. We found four phthalates and nine PBDEs in Terry's body, as well as bisphenol A in his urine. Given his high BDE-154 reading (which can indicate either BDE-154 or polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) 153), Terry is one of two project participants likely to have been exposed through eating food contaminated with PBB-153 added to feed grain in the early 1970s.

"Showing the prevalence of potential toxins in our bodies illustrates the importance of conducting high-quality research on chemicals before releasing them into our environment. Research and regulations need to work hand in hand to ensure that chemicals are used safely and effectively."

Bryan Brown, 12, is an honors student in 7th grade in Pigeon, Michigan and the youngest of three siblings. He enjoys science class, reading, computer and video games, as well as team sports, boating, and swimming. Bryan's school stands out for having three large wind turbines that have already saved the school thousands of dollars. We found four phthalates and nine PBDEs in Bryan's body, as well as bisphenol A in his urine. Bryan and his father, Terry, are the only two participants in whom we found BDEs 85 and 138, indicating a common source of exposure.

"I feel lucky that I was able to participate in an important project like this. Most kids my age don't get to do something that could help so many people."

Download the participant profiles as a fact sheet (pdf).

MICHIGAN OVERVIEW:

Michigan participated in a seven-state biomonitoring project coordinated by the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center. In the current Is It In Us? - Toxic Trespass, Regulatory Failure & Opportunies for Action project, thirty-five people, five from each of seven states, were tested for three groups of common industrial chemicals that are under increasing scrutiny for their contributions to a growing epidemic of diseases and disorders.

Blood and urine samples from each participant were tested for: phthalates, which are plasticizers commonly used in cosmetics and plastics; polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are used as flame retardants in furniture, mattresses, and electronics; and bisphenol A, a chemical used in some plastic water bottles and as a liner in tin cans. Please see the accompanying document for more information on these chemicals and their health effects.

In Michigan, Is It In Us? was coordinated by the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health, a coalition of health professional, health-affected, environmental organizations, and others dedicated to a safe and less toxic world for Michigan’s children. The Network seeks to protect Michigan’s children from adverse impacts caused by exposure to widespread hazardous chemicals.

The purpose of Is It In Us? is to raise awareness about the presence of industrial chemicals in each of us. The results will help demonstrate the need for new policies in Michigan to reduce our exposures to these chemicals.

The goals of the project include:

educating the public, policy makers, and opinion-leaders about the presence of toxic chemicals in our bodies
supporting statewide and national advocacy efforts to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives.

We all have industrial chemicals stored in or passing through our bodies – the result of over five decades of intensive chemical use in industrialized nations. Most chemical exposures occur without our knowledge from low-level contamination in our food, air, water and the things we touch. Increasingly, biomonitoring is being conducted by national and state agencies and by public interest organizations to assess trends in chemical use and exposure, to identify vulnerable populations and populations exposed to chemicals of concern, to assess the effectiveness of current chemical regulations, and to demonstrate the need for chemical policy reform.

Biomonitoring takes a "snapshot" of chemical exposures that could cause health problems. Although individual biomonitoring data in general is not predictive for individual health outcomes, biomonitoring can tell us what environmental chemicals are present in a person’s body at a particular moment in time. Some of these chemicals pass through the body quickly and may be eliminated within a few hours’ time. Others may be persistent and may remain in the body for decades.

Download the Michigan overview as a fact sheet (pdf).

THE CHEMICALS TESTED:

Phthalates

Bisphenol-A

PBDEs

Phthalates and Your Health

Michigan and National Results for Phthalates (pdf)

What Are Phthalates?
Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals that add flexibility and resilience to many consumer products. Of particular concern are di-2-ethylhexyl (DEHP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BzBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and very likely diethyl phthalate (DEP). DEHP and BzBP are primarily used as plasticizers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based plastics, as well as other flexible plastics, and found in tablecloths, furniture, vinyl flooring, shower curtains, garden hoses, inflatable swimming pools, plastic clothing such as raincoats, children's toys, automobile upholstery and tops, medical tubing, and blood storage bags. DEP and DBP are used in non-plastic consumer items as fixatives, detergents, lubricating oils, and solvents and can be found in carpets, paints, glue, insect repellents, time release capsules, and personal care products such as soap, shampoo, hair spray, nail polish, deodorants, and fragrances.

Phthalates in Our Bodies
In a nationwide assessment of the exposure of the U.S. population to phthalates, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measured levels of urinary phthalate monoesters (breakdown products of phthalates) in 289 people and found phthalates at unexpectedly high levels in every person tested. According to this assessment, researchers determined that "from a public health perspective, these data provide evidence that phthalate exposure is both higher and more common than previously suspected." Though not representative of the population due to the small sample size, this study found that women of reproductive age (20 to 40 years) had substantially higher levels of DBP than the rest of the study group.

In the 2005 CDC study, phthalates were once again widely detected in human urine samples with an increased sample size of over 2,500 Americans. Overall, the study indicated that, with the exception of MEP (mono-ethyl phthalate, the urinary metabolite of DEP), children age 6 to 11 years of age excreted higher concentrations of phthalate metabolites than the older age groups. In the same report, researchers found that women had higher levels of MEP, MBP (mono-butyl phthalate, a urinary metabolite of DBP), MBzP (mono-benzyl phthalate, the urinary metabolite of BzBP), and three urinary metabolites of DEHP: MEHP (mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate), MEOHP (mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate), and MEHHP (mono-(2ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate).

In a more recent study, the phthalate monoesters MEHHP, MEOHP, and MEP were found to be present in 100% of 90 girls age 6 to 9, and MBP, MBzP, and MEHP were found in over 94%.

How Are We Exposed to Phthalates?
There are multiple human exposure routes for phthalates including oral, inhalation, ingestion, dermal, and intravenous--through transfusions and other medical devices and procedures. Phthalates are easily released from the plastic products in which they are used as they are not part of the polymer chain which forms the plastic. People are exposed to phthalates through direct contact with consumer products containing phthalates, consumption of contaminated water or food (as the phthalates in plastic packaging may leach into the food they hold), inhalation of contaminated air, and during the manufacturing and disposal of products containing phthalates.

Individual phthalates have various routes of exposure:

The largest source of DEHP exposure for the general population is diet, followed by inhalation of contaminated indoor air. Exposures in food result from DEHP accumulating in foods and from the leaching of DEHP while processing, packaging, and storing. The single largest use of DEHP is as a plasticizer for poly-vinyl chloride plastic (PVC). DEHP can leach from PVC under certain circumstances, causing direct human exposures.

DEP exposure results mainly from direct use consumer products containing fragrances and personal care products such as shampoos, scents, soap, lotions, and cosmetics, and from inhalation of air containing these chemicals. Exposure to DEP is also found in products such as toothbrushes, tools, food packaging, insecticides, and aspirin.

Exposure to DBP has been linked most commonly to cosmetics, mainly nail polish, but DBP is also found in pharmaceutical coatings, insecticides, and some printing inks.

BzBP is an industrial solvent and found within adhesives, vinyl flooring, sealants, car-care products, and some personal care products such as hair spray.

What Does Phthalate Exposure Mean For Our Health?
Evidence that exposure to phthalates has possible adverse health effects has been building over recent years. Phthalate exposure has been linked to the following health concerns:

Reproductive and Developmental Effects: Phthalate exposure can begin in utero and in one study is strongly associated with a shorter pregnancy duration. Another study also found that prenatal phthalate exposure at environmental levels is associated with altered male reproductive development in humans, including shortened anogenital distance (signifying feminization), an increased likelihood of testicular maldescent, small and indistinct scrotum, and smaller penile size. Later research documented altered male reproductive hormone levels in baby boys most highly exposed to phthalates in their mother's breast milk. Phthalate exposure has also been linked to lower sperm counts, reduced sperm motility, and damaged sperm in men.

Respiratory System: Studies have shown concentrations of phthalates in house dust are associated with asthma and rhinitis in children. Exposure to PVC flooring containing phthalates has also been linked to increased bronchial obstruction during the first two years. In adult men, exposure to certain phthalates has been linked to reduced lung capacity at magnitudes similar to those observed with tobacco smoke.

Effects in Laboratory Animals: Depending on the exposure level, exposure to DEHP resulted in observed effects on the pituitary, thyroid, thymus, ovaries, testes, lung, kidneys, liver, and blood.

Reducing Our Exposure
Scientific evidence indicates that phthalates readily exit our bodies through urinary metabolites. Although people are continually exposed to phthalates because they are ubiquitous, you can minimize re-exposure to phthalates by:

Avoid products containing PVC plastic:

Avoid the use of PVC/vinyl in building and home remodeling. Use safe alternatives such as those recommended by the Healthy Building Network.

Purchase natural fibers, polyester, or nylon shower curtains instead of vinyl.

Avoid plastics marked with the #3 symbol; these are likely to contain PVC.

Check with your children's toy manufactures to see if they have pledged to stop using PVC. Toymakers Brio, Chicco, Early Start, Evenflo, Gerber, Lego, Prime Time, Sassy, and Tiny Love have already made the commitment.

Awareness of Household Products:

Educate yourself as to whether the adhesives, caulk, grout, and sealants you use contain phthalates. In the National Institutes of Health's Household Products Database, you can search for phthalate as an ingredient. It can be found at: www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov.

Phthalate-free Personal Care Products:

Look at ingredient lists and avoid products listing "fragrance" or phthalates.

Choose products from companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. For a listing, check out: www.safecosmetics.org.

Research the ingredients of your personal care products, beyond what is on the ingredient label. Check out the Skin Deep Database for a more complete listing.

Know What Is In Your Food:

Grow and harvest your own food without using pesticides, or purchase organic foods if possible.

Regulations for Phthalates
In the United States, federal regulation of phthalates fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act which was passed in 1976 and has not been updated since. Though phthalates are considered a hazardous waste and are regulated as pollutants when released into the environment in the U.S., they remain basically unregulated in consumer products. Several states have tried and failed to pass laws banning phthalates in certain consumer products. However, in September, 2007 the California State Senate successfully passed a bill that would ban six phthalates in children's toys beginning in 2009. On the global level, the European Union banned the use of six phthalates in children's toys and products in 2005, and prior to that, fourteen counties had restricted or banned their use.

Download Phthalates and Your Health as a fact sheet (pdf).
Note: fact sheet was created by Alaska Community Action on Toxics and includes all references.

Bisphenol A and Your Health

Michigan and National Results for Bisphenol A (pdf)

What Is Bisphenol-A?
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a high-volume production chemical used to make epoxy resin and polycarbonate plastic products, including some kinds of water bottles, baby bottles, and food storage and heating containers. It is also used in the lining of metal food cans and in dental sealants, and is an additive to certain plastics used in children’s toys. The chemical was first developed as a synthetic estrogen and was later polymerized to produce polycarbonate. Bisphenol-A mimics estrogen activity and is known as an “endocrine disruptor,” a chemical that interferes with the hormonal system in animals and humans and contributes to adverse health effects. Bisphenol-A also causes a variety of impacts through mechanisms of action that are probably unrelated to estrogenic properties.

How Are We Exposed to Bisphenol-A?
Humans are exposed to bisphenol-A on a daily basis through consumption of food and beverages contaminated with bisphenol-A, as well as through environmental contamination. Polycarbonate plastic can become unstable over time and with use, allowing bisphenol-A to leach into material in contact with the plastic. Additionally, bisphenol-A is now pervasive in the environment and commonly found in dust particles, surface water and drinking water, as over 6 billion pounds are produced worldwide each year and production of bisphenol-A chemical releases approximately 2 hundred thousand pounds of the chemical into the atmosphere annually.

Bisphenol-A in Our Bodies
A recent study by scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 95% of Americans now carry bisphenol-A in their urine at an average level of 1.36 µg/g.

Although the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers exposure to 50 µg/kg/day of bisphenol-A safe, this standard was set in 1993 and is based on studies from the 1980s. Currently, there is controversy over effects of bisphenol-A on human health. In August 2007, over 30 scientific experts on bisphenol-A, known as the Chapel Hill panel, published a consensus statement in the peer-reviewed journal Reproductive Toxicology, stating significant evidence indicates adverse health effects occur in animals at levels within the range of exposure that is typical for humans living in developed countries. Later that month, a separate panel of scientists in the U.S. National Toxicology Program’s Center for Environmental Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) concluded they have “minimal concern” about the role of bisphenol-A in human reproductive effects, and “some concern that exposure to Bisphenol A in utero causes neural and behavioral effects.” While this statement by the CERHR panel makes it the first government panel in the world to declare that bisphenol-A is not safe, its conclusions nevertheless differ drastically from the Chapel Hill panel in degree of concern. Adding to the controversy are considerations that the CERHR panel excluded from review many peer-reviewed scientific studies and relied heavily upon an industry-funded study that had not been peer reviewed.

In one of the reviews of scientific literature excluded by the CERHR panel, researchers found numerous studies indicate a wide range of health effects from exposure to bisphenol-A at significantly lower doses (as low as 2 parts per billion in some studies) than considered “safe” by the EPA.

What Does Exposure to Bisphenol-A Mean for Our Health?
While the majority of research on bisphenol-A has been conducted on animals and cell cultures, there is strong evidence that similar effects occur in humans. The Chapel Hill panel reached the conclusion in August 2007, “Based on existing data we are confident … the similar effects observed in wildlife and laboratory animals exposed to bisphenol-A predict that similar effects are also occurring in humans.” Moreover, research on estrogenic compounds all over the world has consistently demonstrated that “animal studies of the effects of estrogenic substances are highly predictive of human impacts.”

Since summer 2005, over 130 studies have examined the low dose effects of bisphenol-A. As a result, bisphenol-A has been linked to the following effects:

Endocrine disruption: As early as 1936, bisphenol-A was shown to be an environmental estrogen. Compared with natural estrogen, bisphenol-A is a less potent activator of the classic estrogen receptor, but in recent years it has been recognized that “BPA is equipotent with estradiol in its ability to activate responses via recently discovered estrogen receptors associated with the cell membrane,” as found in several studies on cell culture and laboratory animals. In addition to being shown to bind to estrogen receptors, evidence suggests that bisphenol-A also can cause alterations is endogenous hormone synthesis, hormone metabolism and hormone concentrations in blood. Exposure to bisphenol-A has been shown to cause changes in tissue enzymes and hormone receptors as well as interacting with other hormone-response systems.

Recurrent miscarriage: Researchers found that women with a history of recurrent miscarriage had average blood serum levels of bisphenol-A at 2.59 ng/ml, more than three times higher than women with successful pregnancies, a finding predicted by previous animal studies.

Altered mammary gland development: In a laboratory study, mammary gland development was significantly altered in mice exposed to 250 ng BPA/kg bw?d of bisphenol-A, the lowest dose thus far shown to disrupt animal development. Scientists suggest that this study’s implications for human health include increased susceptibility to breast cancer after perinatal exposure to bisphenol-A.

Prostate cancer: Research using cell cultures showed that a concentration of bisphenol-A of 1 nM made prostate cancer cells less responsive to the hormone treatment used to control prostatic adenocarcinomas into remission. Whether this cell culture impact also occurs in people is uncertain, but the concentration is lower than the average level of bisphenol-A found in Americans, as reported by Calafat et al. in 2005.

Altered brain development and behavior: Scientists found that bisphenol-A exposure in the womb modifies sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior in rats at only 30 µg/kg/day, lower than the dose considered safe by the EPA. For some behaviors tested, results suggest that bisphenol-A exposure was linked to both demasculinization of males and defeminization of females.

Insulin resistance: A recent study in adult mice provided evidence of an association between bisphenol-A exposure and increased risk of type II diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. In this study, scientists found that chronic exposure to low doses of bisphenol-A yields insulin resistance in adult mice. Doses used in their experiments were 5 times lower than the dose considered safe by the EPA.

Developmental origins of adult health and disease: The 2007 “Chapel Hill Bisphenol A Expert Panel Consensus Statement: Integration of Mechanisms, Effects in Animals and Potential to Impact Human Health at Current Levels of Exposure” states that enough evidence exists to suggest that adverse health outcomes may not become apparent until after exposure during critical developmental periods has happened. Especially of concern is that “these developmental effects are irreversible and can occur due to low-dose exposure during brief sensitive periods in development, even though no BPA may be detected when the damage or disease is expressed.”

Reducing Our Exposure
You can prevent or minimize exposure to bisphenol-A in the following ways:

Use glass, stainless steel, or polyethylene bottles (PETE, PET, or #1; HDPE or #2; LDPE or #4) instead of polycarbonate (PC or #7) bottles.

Avoid heating foods in polycarbonate containers, as bisphenol-A tends to leach faster with higher temperatures. Use glass or ceramic containers instead.

Cut back on consumption of canned foods to reduce exposure to bisphenol-A contamination from the interior coating of the container. Also, avoid canned foods with higher fat content, which may have higher levels of bisphenol-A.

Before getting dental sealants, check with your dentist about the ingredients in the products they use, as some formulations may leach bisphenol-A.

Regulations for Bisphenol-A
Federal regulation of toxic chemicals is a critical part of protecting public health. However, according to the Environmental Working Group, “The nation's system of regulations for industrial chemicals like [bisphenol-A] are embodied in the Toxic Substances Control Act, a law passed in 1976, and the only major environmental or public health statute that has never been updated.” Furthermore, “under this law, companies are not required to test chemicals for safety before they are sold, and are not required to track whether their products end up in people or the environment at unsafe levels.” To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not performed a standard toxicology study or determined an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for bisphenol-A. Globally, bisphenol-A has not been banned, restricted, cancelled, or designated illegal for import in any country.

Download Bisphenol-A and Your Health as a fact sheet (pdf).
Note: fact sheet was created by Alaska Community Action on Toxics and includes all references.

PBDEs and Your Health

Michigan and National Results for PBDEs (pdf)

Results of All PBDEs for MI (pdf)

MI Results of PBDEs 47, 153, 183 (pdf)

What Are PBDEs?
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are a class of flame retardant chemicals added to many consumer products found in the home, office, automobiles, and airplanes. Three mixtures used widely—penta-BDE, octa-BDE, and deca-BDE—made up 14%, 6%, and 80% of the 1999 worldwide production, respectively. Commonly found in electronics, such as TVs, and used in some furniture foams, textiles, and kitchen appliances, industry voluntarily ended production in the United States of the formulations of penta and octa in 2004 after high levels were found in breast milk. However, the deca formulation is still being produced and used primarily in plastic electronics such as television and computer casings, and is also used in furniture and mattresses.

PBDEs are also part of a broader chemical class called polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs) which include other highly toxic chemicals such as PCBs and dioxins. PBDEs are intrinsically hazardous because of their chemical characteristics: (1) they are stable, meaning that they are persistent in the environment and do not break down easily;
(2) they are lipophilic, meaning that they accumulate in fatty tissues of living organisms; and
(3) they have toxic properties, including the potential to act as endocrine disruptors.
Their persistence and fat solubility allow them to both bio-magnify and bio-accumulate, meaning that they build up in the bodies of animals and humans as they move through the food chain. However, the main component in deca-BDE, BDE-209, has a relatively short half-life in people, making it probable that it does not accumulate unless there is continuous exposure.

How Are We Exposed?
There are numerous ways that humans are exposed to PBDEs, including consumption of contaminated foods and through incidental ingestion of PBDE-contaminated dust. Because of the chemical characteristics of PBDEs, they do not fully bind to the products in which they are used. Deca, in particular, breaks down into more toxic products which volatizes when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. It is not entirely clear how deca is being released from products, though some think that it might even be from physical abrasion or deterioration of the product. Penta does not require UV light exposure to volatize. PBDEs are released from furniture, electronics and other products when exposed to UV light, causing them to be present in the air we breathe and in dust. Though the production of penta-BDE and octa-BDE has stopped in the United States, exposure continues from old computers, furniture, fabrics, and other consumer sources that were manufactured before the discontinuation. The main sources of exposure are thought to be fatty foods, as PBDEs are fat-seeking and bio-accumulate in the food chain, and inhalation of contaminated dust.

PBDEs in Our Bodies
Due to their widespread use, persistence and bio-accumulative properties, PBDEs have been found in humans at high levels. One study showed that five percent of American women have levels of PBDEs that approach the levels associated with reproductive problems in animals, though we do not know if humans are more or less sensitive than animals. PBDEs have been found in mothers’ breast milk and in the blood of mothers and their babies. People of the Arctic may experience an even greater risk due to their consumption of a traditional diet that is rich in fat from marine mammals. Concentrations of PBDEs have increased over the years in marine mammals due to atmospheric transport and bioaccumulation.

What Does Exposure To PBDEs Mean For Our Health?
PBDEs have been linked to numerous adverse health effects, including:

Developmental Effects: Studies in rodents indicate that neonatal exposure to PBDEs permanently affects learning and memory functions, impairs motor activity, and is linked to aberrations in spontaneous behavior and hyperactivity that seems to be permanent. However, it is not known what the developmental effects are in people or at what doses they occur.

Reproductive Effects: PBDEs have been correlated to cause cryptorchidism, or undescended testes in new born boys, and permanently impair sperm development in rodent studies. They have also been associated with the delay of puberty in both male and female rodents and alterations in sexual development and gender-specific sexual behavior. Exposure to PBDEs has also been linked to birth defects, reduced weight gain during pregnancy, changes in ovary cells, and reduced sperm count.

Cancer: Once study suggests that in utero exposure to PBDE concentrations is associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer in men. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) lists deca-BDE as a possible human carcinogen based on the development of liver tumors in rats that were given the substance.

Thyroid Problems: Recent animal studies have shown that PBDE exposure is linked to decreased circulating concentrations of thyroid hormone and to a decrease in thyroid weight in adult rodent offspring.

Reducing Our Exposure
You can minimize your exposure to PBDEs by taking the following steps:

PBDE-free Furniture:

Before purchasing furniture, find out which companies offer PBDE-free products. The following websites can help:
- Safer Products Project: www.safer-products.org
- Smart Shopper’s PBDE Card: www.thegreenguide.com
Contact the company directly if you cannot find whether the manufacturer uses PBDEs.

Reduce Your Dust Exposure:

Wash your hands frequently to remove dust particles that your hands pick up throughout the day on everything you touch.
Use a wet rag or cloth while dusting to avoid kicking up the dust in the air.
PBDE-free Electronics:
Many companies are beginning to make electronics with alternatives to PBDEs. Certain PBDE-free products are available from Canon, Dell, HP, Intel, Erickson, Apple, and Sony.

Reduce Your Fat Intake:

Choose lean meat and poultry cuts.
Cut off visible fat before you cook meat.
Choose cooking methods that remove excess fat such as broiling, grilling, and roasting.

Regulations for PBDEs
There have been many strides in the regulation of PBDEs in recent years, but much more is needed to ensure the safety of public health. Internationally, Sweden was the first to initiate a phase out of PBDEs in the late 1990s, followed by the European Union—first phasing out penta-BDE and octa-BDE and then deca-BDE in 2006. In the United States, industry voluntarily ended production of penta-BDE and octa-BDE in 2004, but deca-BDE remains allowed in consumer products. Some states such as Washington, Maine, California, Hawaii, and New York have passed laws to ban some forms of PBDEs in consumer products.

Download PBDEs and Your Health as a fact sheet (pdf).
Note: fact sheet was created by Alaska Community Action on Toxics and includes all references.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For more information, please visit:

The Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center
www.commonweal.org/programs/brc/index.html

Pollution in People (Washington State)
www.pollutioninpeople.org/

Alliance for a Clean & Healthy Maine
www.cleanandhealthyme.org/

The California Body Burden Campaign
www.calbbc.org/site/pp.asp?c=9eIELMMAG&b=65900

Coming Clean’s Body Burden Project
www.chemicalbodyburden.org/

Body Burden: The Pollution in Newborns
archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php

The Pollution Within
www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0610/feature4/index.html