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X-Ray Testing finds PBDEs and lead in everyday consumer products

High-tech “gun” detects toxic chemicals in electronics, furniture, and toys

Today experts from the Washington Toxics Coalition revealed that a new high-tech test for toxic chemicals found PBDEs and lead in numerous everyday home and office items including high concentrations of toxic flame retardants (PBDEs) detected in nearly every TV tested.

Today experts from the Washington Toxics Coalition revealed that a new high-tech test for toxic chemicals found PBDEs and lead in numerous everyday home and office items including high concentrations of toxic flame retardants (PBDEs) detected in nearly every TV tested. Coalition experts demonstrated how the high-tech X-ray “gun” works in the Olympia office of Washington State Sen. Debbie Regala (D-Tacoma). Regala and Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) are lead sponsors of legislation to eliminate PBDEs in consumer products.

“This testing shows that you can walk into just about any home or office and find plenty of items containing toxic flame retardants,” said Erika Schreder, staff scientist at the Washington Toxics Coalition. “The Washington Legislature now has a historic opportunity to protect the public with passage of a bill to phase out all forms of PBDEs,” she added.

The XRF Analyzer, a gun-shaped instrument, uses X-ray technology to nearly instantaneously detect the presence and levels of such known toxics as brominated flame retardants and lead. The testing done on furniture, mattresses, electronics equipment, toys, and clothing in five Seattle homes and two legislative offices in Olympia found:

• Each of us is likely living and working in environments that are rich with items containing toxic flame retardants (PBDEs). Televisions, furniture, and children’s items such as changing pads, car seats, and mattresses frequently tested positive for bromine, indicating the likely presence of PBDEs.
• Some household items, including children’s items, had unexpectedly high concentrations of lead. The X-ray gun detected lead in PVC/vinyl clothing, toys, and electronics, sometimes at alarmingly high levels.
• PBDE-free products showed up in all product categories we tested. The homes and offices tested contained furniture, mattresses, toys, a television, and electronics (outer parts) that appear to have no added PBDEs, confirming that some manufacturers are making products without PBDEs.
  

“I was shocked to find out that items in my home as common as a baby changing pad actually have toxic chemicals in them. There may be better products out there, but it’s hard for an average consumer like me to determine whether these chemicals are present in the items we buy. There should be policies that do a better job of protecting the public,” remarked Janine Duncan Monnin, mother of two, and owner of one of the Seattle homes tested.

These findings come as lawmakers in Olympia are poised to vote on historic legislation that would, for the first time in the nation, phase out all PBDEs in televisions, computers, and residential mattresses and upholstered furniture as long as safer alternatives that meet high fire safety standards are available. The legislation has broad support from nurses, doctors, fire fighting organizations, environmentalists, and the departments of Health and Ecology, and Gov. Gregoire.

Sen. Regala commented, “Banning PBDEs will make us a leader in both protecting the health of future generations and protecting our environment. The safeguards built into the bill ensure that these toxic flame retardants will be replaced with safer alternatives which do not compromise fire safety.”

PBDEs and lead have both been linked to serious health concerns, especially in children. Regarding the proposed ban on PBDEs, Rep. Hunter said, “This is an important action for children's health. The PBDE bill we are introducing this year is a reasonable, well-crafted bill that phases out the use of PBDEs in commonly used household items without damaging Washington businesses. If it passes, we'll be the first state in the nation to phase out use of all PBDEs, and we'll likely serve as a model for how other states could do the same.”

The findings revealed today pick up where last year’s Pollution in People study left off. That study, which tested the blood, hair, and urine of 10 Washingtonians, found alarming concentrations of a number of toxic chemicals, including PBDEs, in all people tested. Previous studies found high levels of these chemicals in household dust as well.

Copies of the study and additional information on the legislation to ban PBDEs are available at www.watoxics.org. A list of expert contacts and electronic photographs of items tested are also available by calling Jen Lamson, 206-369-3122 or Kristin Hyde, 206-491-0773.

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