Flame retardant chemicals - mattresses - cancer - various

[Guest guest]

Sleep Concerns - A Special Report

Posted: var wn_last_ed_date = getLEDate( " Feb 14, 2008 5:38 PM EST " );

document.write(wn_last_ed_date); Feb 14, 2008 05:38 PM EST

 

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - New beds hold a secret. The secret we've uncovered

during the last six months of our investigation was designed to keep you safer,

but some people claim it could be harmful to your family's health.

 

Your bedroom can be one of the most deadly places in your house because of

your mattress. It's usually the biggest source of heat and combustion in the

room.

 

Burn tests show how quickly mattresses can ignite from an open flame like a

candle or lighter. Fires like this kill nearly 400 people each year and injure

more than 1,000.

 

You're twice as likely to die in a fire in your bedroom as in any other room

in your house. So, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently approved a

new safety standard designed to make your mattress safer. The law requires

mattress makers to make your bed flame-retardant. Most use chemicals to achieve

a flame-retardant bed.

 

The hope of the new standard is to save lives by giving you and your family

more time to escape.

 

Indiana State Fire Marshal Roger Johnson believes the new law could help save

lives. He said, " Anything that helps protect people from themselves is probably

a good idea. "

 

Cheryl Anderson of Indianapolis doesn't think the new regulation is a good

idea. " I laid there trying to get to sleep and never did. " She says he got sick

the first night she slept on a new mattress. " I was very hot and had a fever. I

had a rash that came down through her (her neck) that I'd never had before. "

 

Cheryl traded in the first mattress for a second one with the same result.

She believes the beds were to blame.

 

So, Cheryl did what most do these days, she logged on to her computer and

learned about the new regulations requiring flame-retardant chemicals in her bed

where they hadn't been before. She says the store where she bought her mattress

wanted to give her a third mattress. " We said no. We just want our money back. "

 

One of the chemicals used to make mattresses flame retardant is boric acid.

It's the same chemical used to kill cockroaches. Studies done by the CPSC when

approving the standard found that boric acid is safe for humans.

Another chemical that's more questionable than boric acid is antimony

trioxide. Even the Consumer Product Safety Commission lists antimony trioxide as

a probable carcinogen, or cancer-causing chemical. Again, the CPSC's risk

assessment ruled that you couldn't inhale enough of it while sleeping to be a

cancer risk.

 

Fort Wayne mattress maker Tony Wolf of Wolf Corporation says all of the

flame-retardant chemicals used in beds are safe. He helped the CPSC come up with

the new flame retardant regulation. It's a process that took eight years.

 

" One of the first things they were concerned about was that we don't want to

make anything worse while we're trying to make it better. "

 

Wolf says he hasn't heard any complaints about his treated mattresses. " No one

has reported the least little issue, not the least little issue. "

 

Another Hoosier bed maker isn't so sure. Lauren McAshlan, Commercial Manager

of Holder Mattress Co. said, " Those chemicals aren't something that we as people

have been exposed to in that way before. Holder Mattress of Kokomo complies

with the new regulations but found a way to do it without using boric acid or

antimony trioxide.

 

" I sleep on our mattresses, I won't sleep on anything else and I wouldn't want

to sleep on a lot of those chemicals that were made available to pass the

fire-retardancy tests. "

 

Holder Mattress uses a chemical called ammonium polyphosphate in the beds they

make. It's the same chemical used by firefighters putting out wildfires.

McAshlan feels it's a safer option for their employees and customers.

 

If you're not getting a good night's sleep, McAshlan believes you may not have

to look any further than your bed. She said, " Something that you may have never

had a reaction to before but you suddenly have a reaction to and that could be

the result of these new materials. "

 

As for Cheryl Anderson, she now sleeps on an organic, chemical-free bed. She

said, " And I haven't had any problems since. "

 

You can see on the mattress tag whether a bed meets the new standard... but

you won't see which specific chemicals are used. You can get a chemical-free

mattress that is not flame-retardant, but you need a doctor's prescription.

 

By Debby Knox

WISH-TV

 

Sleep Concerns - A Special Report

 

A lot of new mattresses are being treated with a flame-retardant

chemicals

More on WISHTV.com CPSC

Guidlines Simmons Bedding Co. response Sealy, Inc. response

 

More on the Web Industry Position

 

 

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7874683 & nav=menu35_2

 

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Note: Government tests on safety of these chemicals did not include children

up to age 5 because it was felt the kids would sleep on vinyl or plastic covered

mattresses and would not be exposed.

 

 

antimony trioxide

 

....Antimony and many of its compounds are toxic. Clinically, antimony

poisoning is very similar to arsenic poisoning. In small doses, antimony causes

headache, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses cause violent and frequent

vomiting, and will lead to death in a few days.

See also arsenic poisoning.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimony

 

.....

 

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW Appearance: white powder.

Warning! Possible cancer hazard. May cause cancer based on animal data. Risk of

cancer depends on duration and level of exposure. Causes eye irritation. May

cause skin and respiratory tract irritation. May cause lung damage.

Target Organs: Lungs, eyes, skin.

 

 

Potential Health Effects

Eye: Contact produces irritation, tearing, and burning pain. May cause chemical

conjunctivitis.

Skin: May cause skin irritation. Repeated or prolonged skin contact may cause

antimony measles characterized by itchy papules and pustules around the sweat

and fat glands.

Ingestion: May cause irritation of the digestive tract. May cause slow pulse,

low blood pressure, bloody stool, shallow breathing, coma, convulsions, and

possible death.

Inhalation: May cause respiratory tract irritation. May cause ulceration and

perforation of the nasal septum if inhaled in excessive quantities. Inhalation

of fumes may cause metal fume fever, which is characterized by flu-like symptoms

with metallic taste, fever, chills, cough, weakness, chest pain, muscle pain and

increased white blood cell count. May cause lung damage. Antimony compounds may

enter the body through the lungs. Inhalation may produce severe bronchitis with

spasms, coughing, and chest pain.

Chronic: Possible cancer hazard based on tests with laboratory animals.

Prolonged inhalation may cause respiratory tract inflammation and lung damage.

Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Laboratory experiments

have resulted in mutagenic effects. May cause chronic heart disease due to

effects on the heart muscle. This substance has caused adverse reproductive and

fetal effects in laboratory animals. Prolonged or excessive inhalation or

ingestion exposures to Antimony or Antimony trioxide may result in inflammation

of the lungs, airway obstruction, bronchospasm, chronic bronchitis, liver

effects, blood effects, and neurological effects. Antimony trioxide has been

identified by the EPA as a suspected lung ....

https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01780.htm

 

http://www.intox.org/databank/documents/chemical/antxide/ukpid38.htm

 

http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/2507

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Boric acid, also called boracic acid or orthoboric acid or Acidum Boricum, is

a mild acid often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, in

nuclear power plants to control the fission rate of uranium, and as a precursor

of other chemical compounds. It exists in the form of colorless crystals or a

white powder and dissolves in water. It has the chemical formula H3BO3,

sometimes written B(OH)3. When occurring as a mineral, it is called

sassolite.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boric_acid

 

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Boric Acid/ Borates/ Borax

Beyond Pesticides Rating: Least Toxic

 

Boric acid (borax and boron-containing salts) is a low-toxicity mineral with

insecticidal, fungicidal, and herbicidal properties. It does not evaporate or

volatilize into the air or pose the considerable health concerns associated with

synthetic pesticides; however it can still pose health hazards and should be

used with care. As with any pesticide, keep boric acid pesticide products out of

reach of children and only use it in locations where it will not come in contact

with people or animals, such as in cracks and crevices, behind counters, and in

baseboards. While boric acid is somewhat slower acting than the synthetic

pesticides, like chlorpyrifos, diazinon, or pyrethrins, it is highly effective

over a long period of time. Use and Mode of Action Registered in 1983 for

control of cockroaches, ants, grain weevils and several beetles, it has also

been used as an herbicide along rights-of-way and as a fungicide for citrus, and

as a wood preservative/fire retardant,

and even as an insect repellent in insulation. As an insecticide, boric acid

acts as a stomach poison for ants, cockroaches, silverfish and termites, and as

abrasive to the insects exoskeleton. As an herbicide, boric acid causes

desiccation or interrupts photosynthesis in plants.

Boric acid may be used either in a bait formulation containing a feed

attractant or as a dry powder. The powder may be injected into cracks and

crevices, where it forms a fine layer of dust. Insects travel through the boric

acid, which adheres to their legs. When the insects groom themselves, they then

ingest the poison, which causes death three to ten days later of starvation and

dehydration. As long as the material is not allowed to become wet, its

continuous presence ensures that hatching insects, which sprays commonly spare,

are exposed and die. Many insecticidal formulations can be effective for more

than a year.

Toxicity While exposure to boric acid has been linked to adverse health

effects, experts agree that careful application offers a safe and effective

alternative without the indoor air problems associated with sprays. Boron is a

naturally-occurring element in the earth’s crust and background levels even

circulate in the human bloodstream. Boric acid’s exposure risks are minimal

because of its method of application.

However, while boric acid has become one of the chemicals of choice for many

urban pest control programs, it can be toxic. EPA considers boric acid as a

moderately acutely toxic due to acute effects including oral and dermal

toxicity, and eye and skin irritation. EPA’s reregistration document states that

a subchronic borax feeding study using dogs resulted in blood and metabolism

disorders as well as effects to the testes, endocrine system, brain weight, and

size ratios among various organs and glands. In chronic oncogenicity studies

using mice, rats and beagle dogs, boric acid and borax were found not to be

carcinogenic; however, testicular effects and decreases in body weight resulted

at high dose levels. EPA has classified boric acid as a “Group E” carcinogen,

indicating that it shows “evidence of noncarcinogenicity” for humans. In

reproductive and developmental toxicity studies using rats, mice and rabbits,

maternal liver and kidney effects and decreased weight gain

as well as decreased fetal body weights were observed. In two studies, at the

highest dose levels, no litters were produced. Prenatal mortality occurred at

the highest dose levels in the rabbit study. Boric acid does not cause

mutagenicity (U.S. EPA 1993).

Applicators and others in treatment areas may be exposed to boric acid and its

sodium salts during or after application. However, there is no reasonable

expectation that these pesticide uses may constitute a hazard or risk to people

involved in, or near to, handling or application activities. Proper care and

adhering to label directions and precautions should reduce exposure and any

associated risk (U.S. EPA 1993).

Ecological Effects Boric acid is practically nontoxic to birds, fish,

aquatic invertebrates, and relatively nontoxic to beneficial insects. It’s

noncrop herbicidal use may harm endangered or threatened plants, and therefore

EPA is requiring three phytotoxicity studies to assess these risks (U.S. EPA

1993).

Effectiveness An EPA assessment of a boric acid pilot pest control program

conducted at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland found that

boric acid was both more economical and more effective than monthly spray

treatment. At least one study has shown that the combination of heat, 110 degree

F for two hours with boric acid, will increase the speed at which the German

cockroach is killed. References:

Barlow, S.M. & F.M. Sullivan. 1982. Reproductive Hazards of Industrial

Chemicals: An Evaluation of Animal & Human Data. Academic Press, New York, NY.

pp. 130-135.

Bianchini, R.J. 1987. “The use of borate-treated wood in structures.”

Presentation by U.S. Borax at Forest Products Research Society Conference on

Wood Protection Techniques and the Use of Treated Wood in Construction. Memphis,

TN. October 28-30.

“Borate prospects are seen as promising.” Chemical Marketing Reporter.

November 16, 1987.

“Boron found to have role in hardening bones.” Chemical Marketing Reporter.

November 9, 1987.

Casarett, et al. 1980. Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons. 2nd ed.

Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York, NY. pp. 440-441.

Gosselin, R.E., et al. 1984. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 5th

ed. Williams & Wilkins. Baltimore, MD.

“IN-CIDE: Pest control insulation.” Energy Design Update 4 (11):13-14.

Olkowski, W. and S. Daar. 1987. “Boric acid: New formulations and application

equipment.” The IPM Practioner 9(6-7):3-4. Bio-Integral Resource Center.

Berkeley, CA.

Siegel, E. and S. Wason. 1986. “Boric acid toxicity.” Pediatric Clinics of

North America 33(2):363-367.

Sprague, R. 1972. “The ecological significance of boron.” U.S. Borax Research

Corp. Anaheim, CA.

U.S. EPA. 1993. “Boric acid.” R.E.D. Facts. EPA-738-F-93-006. Office of

Pesticide Programs. Washington, DC.

U.S. EPA. 1985. “Guidance for the reregistration of pesticide products

containing boric acid and boron containing salts as the active ingredient.”

Office of Pesticide Programs. Washington, DC.

Weir, R. and R. Fisher. 1972. “Toxicological studies on borax and boric acid.”

Toxicology of Applied Pharmacology 23:351-364.

 

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefactsheets/leasttoxic/bori\

cacid_borates_borax.htm

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

It's almost impossible to buy an average priced mattress without flame

retardants even with a dr.'s note.

 

What really irks me is that the showroom mattresses never have that

chemical smell. Wonder why? No one would buy them.

 

And ever wonder why they gladly take your good old mattress for you?

Hmm. Think it's to be polite? If they had been kept, I would bet you

a lot of people would be back sleeping on them. OR people would be

out looking for used mattresses without flame retardants. Like I did.

But no can do if they're taken away while delivering our new toxic

mattress.