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Are Flame Retardants Putting Us at Risk? (Part 1)

PBDEs are used in a lot of our products, including couches, to make them resistant to flames. (Photo by Fastily from Wikimedia Commons)

Flame retardant chemicals are used in hundreds of products in our homes and offices and schools. The chemicals can slow the spread of fire. But certain kinds of these chemicals leach out of our couches, our TVs, our carpet padding and many other things in our homes. And they’re getting into our bodies. In the first of our five part series, Rebecca Williams tries to find out what’s in the products in her own home:

A study on PBDEs in U.S. mothers' milk

Article on PBDEs from Green Science Policy Institute

Read the statements from industry groups and the EPA

Producer: Rebecca Williams
Release Date: March 8, 2010
Running Time: 3:39