New Research Suggests Flame Retardants May Create Deadlier Fires
by Jennifer Chait, 04/18/12 filed under: green family, health & body, news, toxinsYou may have already heard that flame retardants are toxic, yet companies continue to add them to baby car seats, kids clothing, baby mattresses and even our food. Now in an ironic twist, researchers have found that brominated and chlorinated flame retardants which are routinely added to upholstered furniture and other household items to stop the spread of flames, actually increase emissions of two poisonous gases. Basically by making a product flame retardant via chemicals, companies may actually be making fire even more deadly. Study co-author Anna Stec, a fire specialist at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, said in a statement, “We found that flame retardants have the undesirable effect of increasing the amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide released during combustion.” Also important to note is that carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide are by far the biggest killer in fires – they’re responsible for 60 to 80% of all fire deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
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