A new study has found 25 different types of flame retardant chemicals in the breast milk of US mothers.

Researchers from Emory University, the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Research Institute tested breast milk from 50 US mothers for over 60 types of brominated flame retardant chemicals (BFRs). They found that 25 different types of flame retardants were present, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in every sample and bromophenols in 88% of samples. This is the first time bromophenols have been detected in breast milk from US mothers.

BFRs are commonly used in fabrics (e.g. in sofas), plastics and electronics to prevent or slow the growth of fire. Some of these chemicals are extremely persistent, bioaccumulative (they accumulate in the tissues of humans and wildlife) and toxic. PBDEs in particular have been widely researched and are associated with negative impacts on children’s brain development and thyroid hormone functioning. As a result they are mostly banned globally, but are still present in the environment due to their persistence (for more information see page 60 of the HBM4EU newsletter).

However, research from the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative has shown that with increased restrictions on PBDEs, the levels found in breast milk decrease. This suggests that regulatory action is effective. The US study had similar findings – the levels of PBDEs found by this new study were lower than levels found in US breast milk samples tested a decade ago.

In response to regulations on PBDEs some companies have replaced them with bromophenols – structurally similar chemicals. However, these chemicals are also suspected to harm brain development. This is known as regrettable substitution, whereby one harmful chemical is replaced by another chemical that is later found out to be similarly harmful.

To address regrettable substitution and speed up the regulation of hazardous chemicals, CHEM Trust is calling for a grouping approach to regulate flame retardants of concern in the EU. This approach extends regulations that apply to one harmful chemical to all structurally similar chemicals. CHEM Trust called for rapid action on this group of chemicals in our consultation response to the European Chemical Agency’s Flame Retardant Strategy proposal.

Find out more about the impact of brominated flame retardants on the developing brain in our No Brainer report.

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