So much has been made recently of the dangerous levels of lead in children’s toys from China, but as a parent should we only concern ourselves lead? CNN recently had an article on a new study that found kids today have a high level of chemicals in their bodies form PBDEs or the chemicals present in flame retardants.
Studies on the health effects of PBDEs are only just beginning, but many countries have heeded the warning signs they see in animal studies. Sweden banned PBDEs in 1998. The European Union banned most PBDEs in 2004. In the United States, the sole manufacturer of two kinds of PBDEs voluntarily stopped making them in 2004. A third kind, Deca, is still used in the U.S. in electrical equipment, construction material, mattresses and textiles.
The article followed the story of two young children, which testing revealed had chemical exposure levels up to seven times those of their parents. Very little is known about the long term effects these chemical can have on children but they are undoubtedly bad.
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