High levels of brominated flame retardants found in maternal and fetal serum

*High levels of brominated flame retardants found in maternal and fetal
serum.* In this publication, Mazdai et al. report finding levels of
brominated flame retardants in maternal and fetal serum in Indiana far
exceeding levels that moved Sweden to ban PBDEs in that country.
Laboratory data indicate that flame retardants intefere with thyroid
hormone, and are thus suspected of disrupting neurological development.
10 March 2003.
More...
http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/oncompounds/PBDE/2003/2003-0310-mazdaietal.htm
<http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/oncompounds/PBDE/2003/2003-0310-mazdaietal.htm>


*Brominated flame retardants increasing rapidly in California women.*
Petreas et al. confirm indications from preliminary sampling in
California that over the past 3 decades contamination by brominated
flame retardants in California women has risen dramatically. Stored
samples from the 1960s had no polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)
contamination. Levels measured from samples taken in the 1990s, in
contrast, reveal levels 3 to 10 times higher than measurements from
Europe obtained during the same period. 10 March 2003.
More...
http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/oncompounds/PBDE/2003/2003-0310petreasetal.htm
<http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/oncompounds/PBDE/2003/2003-0310petreasetal.htm>


*Brominated flame retardants alter brain development if exposure occurs
during a critical period.* Eriksson et al. show that for developmental
effects, exposure must occur during a crucial window in post-natal
development, as by day 19 after birth the effect can no longer be
induced. 1 May 2002.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2002/2002-0501erikssonetal.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2002/2002-0501erikssonetal.htm>


*Exponential increase of PBDEs in Arctic seal tissues.* The rate of
increase of brominated flame retardants in the Arctic is so rapid that
they will overtake PCBs as the most prevalent persistent bioaccumulative
organohalogen contaminant in that region by 2050, even though PBDE
contamination is currently only 1/50th that of PCBs. 3 April 2002.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2002-0404ikonomouetal.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2002-0404ikonomouetal.htm>


*Two different types of ubiquitous brominated flame retardants cause
permanent changes in behavior of mice.* Both induce changes in
spontaneous behavior that worsen as the mouse ages. One also impaired
learning and memory in adult mice after neonatal exposure. These
results, in combination with data indicating that these compounds are
persistent, bioaccumulative and increasing exponentially in different
animals, including humans, raise significant public health concerns
about these compounds. 1 September 2001.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2001/2001-0820erikssonetal.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2001/2001-0820erikssonetal.htm>


*Sewage sludge laden with flame retardant is used as fertilizer.*
Writing in Nature, Virginia scientists report that brominated diphenyl
ethers, some of which are powerful thyroid disruptors, can be found at
high contamination levels in sewage sludge applied as fertilizers to US
cropland. They also found the same contaminants in Virginia fish. 12
July 2001.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2001haleetal.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/2001haleetal.htm>


*Research indicates that widely used flame retardants disrupt thyroid
function.* The report indicates that flame retardants which are now
ubiquitous in our environment can be up to 10 times more potent than
natural thyroid hormones. Imbalances in thyroid hormone in the womb can
impair brain development. 1 July 2000.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/behavior/2000ilonkaetal.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/behavior/2000ilonkaetal.htm>



*Polybrominated diphenyl ether concentrations have increased
exponentially in people by a factor of 100 over the last 30 years.*
Levels in people from the US currently are over 10 times those
measured in Europeans. 28 January 2004.
More...
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/2004/38/i04/abs/es035082g.html?emFrom=emLogin
<http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/2004/38/i04/abs/es035082g.html?emFrom=emLogin>

*PBDEs are added to materials to decrease the likelihood and intensity
of fire in a wide variety of products, including vehicles, furniture,
textiles, carpets, building materials, electronic circuit boards and
cases... just about anywhere that plastics are used.* Some of the most
common plastics to which PBDEs are added are high-impact polystyrene,
polyurethane foam, wire and cable insulation, and electrical and
electronic connectors. PBDEs can constitute quite a large percentage
of the final product... up to 30%. 12 January 2004.
More...
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/whatarepbdes.htm
<http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PBDE/whatarepbdes.htm>

*Brain growth patterns in autistic children differ from normal
beginning in the womb.* A study of growth rates of autistic children's
heads reveals striking differences in how their heads and brains
develop compared to normal children, beginning prior to birth. These
results indicate that the causation of autism begins long before overt
signs of autistic behavior are evident, suggesting that exposure to
mercury in vaccines delivered at age 3-4 may not be the cause of
autism. A role for such exposures, however, cannot be eliminated on
the basis of these observations. 16 July 2003.
More...
http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/learning/2003/2003-0716courchesneetal.htm
<http://www.protectingourhealth.org/newscience/learning/2003/2003-0716courchesneetal.htm>

* * * *

Chemicals take toll on dolphin

Scientists find substance linked to diseases in lagoon bottlenose
/
BY JIM WAYMER
FLORIDA TODAY
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060311/NEWS01/603110341
<http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060311/NEWS01/603110341>

/
/[foto] New maladies. A number of new diseases have been attacking
dolphin, including herpes. Researcher Greg Bossart says flame
retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, found in
bottlenose dolphin have the "potential of opening up these animals to
a Pandora's box of diseases." Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution /