investigate links between specific products and children’s exposures, and to determine how the exposure happened, was it through breathing, skin contact or inadvertent dust inhalation,” said study leader Heather Stapleton. She is an environmental chemist at Duke University’s School of the Environment.
“SVOCs are widely used in electronics, furniture, and building materials, and can be detected in nearly all indoor environments,” Stapleton explained in a university news release.
“Human exposure to them is widespread, particularly for young children who spend most of their time indoors and have greater exposure to chemicals found in household dust,” she added.
“Nonetheless, there has been little research on the relative contribution of specific products and materials to children’s overall exposure to SVOCs,” Stapleton said.
The investigators found that children living in homes where the sofa in the main living area contained flame-retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in its foam had a six-fold higher concentration of PBDEs in their blood.
Exposure to PBDEs has been linked in laboratory tests to neurodevelopmental delays, obesity, endocrine and thyroid disruption, cancer and other diseases, the study authors said.
So, in order to take extra precaution, ask about the flooring in your home if you’re renting and stag away from flame-retardant furniture in order to lower your child’s risks.
For more information on multiple myeloma and prevention, visit our Health Conditions page on BlackDoctor.org.
SOURCE: Duke University, news release, Feb. 17, 2019