Scientists at Silent Spring Institute have found that flame retardants in common household products like upholstered furniture, textiles, and electronics migrate into household dust, and from there, into our bodies. The Chicago Tribune has reported that the average American is born with the highest recorded levels of flame retardants among infants in the world. The chemicals are linked to cancer, changes in DNA, hormone disruption, lowered IQ, decreased fertility, and hyperactivity. Such links are denied by the chemical industry, which has lobbied for years to get these chemicals into consumer products, backed by the tobacco industry, which promoted the flame retardants to avoid making cigarettes without accelerants. The Silent Spring study was published on November 28th in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
With Ruthann Rudel, senior scientist of environmental toxicology and director of research at the Silent Spring Institute, a non-profit based in Newton, Massachusetts that works to identify and break the links between toxins and womenâs health, especially breast cancer. Ms. Rudel directs the Instituteâs Household Exposure Study.
Radio interview by Amy Grunder, first aired live on Sounds of Dissent on WZBC 90.3 FM Boston on December 1, 2012. --- Sounds of Dissent has aired since 1998 on WZBC 90.3 FM in Greater Boston. Catch us every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Live streams & archive links at wzbc.org
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