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"  An alarm was raised yesterday in an article from The New York Times about the dangers of flame retardants in the foam found in children&amp;#039;s products such as high chairs, strollers, table pads, and car seats. The article cited a recent study, Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products just published in the journal of Environmental Science &amp;amp;amp; Technology. In the study, a team of researchers across the country found flame retardants in 80 out of 101 children&amp;#039;s products tested. One of the flame retardants was chlorinated Tris. While this set off an alarm, as brominated Tris was banned by the government in the 1970&amp;#039;s, it is important to note than the Tris found in the products is a different chemical formulation. In response to the report, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) released a statement clarifying that while these flame retardants are chemically related to the banned Tris, they are not banned substances themselves. However, one of the chlorinated Tris compounds (TCEP) that showed up in the tested children&amp;#039;s products is listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop 65) as a probable carcinogen. In addition, the most commonly found flame retardant in the study was Tris phosphate (TDCPP) and the Consumer Products Safety Commision (CPSC) has reported that products with &amp;quot;...TDCPP treated foam might present a hazard to consumers, based on both cancer and non-cancer end points&amp;quot;. One of the reasons all the products contain flame retardants is that they are required to be flame resistant under California Technical Bulletin 117, a standard passed in 1975 that requires polyurethane foam in upholstered furniture to be able to withstand an open flame for 12 seconds without catching fire. As there is no other state or federal standard for foam, many manufacturers of children&amp;#039;s products comply with this ruling. Last year, California exempted strollers, nursing pillows, and baby carriers from the standard. As we discover the dangers of chemicals, and ban more of them that may be harmful to us, new ones that we may know even less about are being used as replacements. Perhaps the California Standard that requires these products to be flame retardant, needs to be reassessed to determine if it is necessary for all children&amp;#039;s products to be included in the mandate. Situations in which strollers, table pads, high chairs and other baby products need flame retardant treatments should be identified and shown to be possible fire hazards. It is unlikely that a baby carrier would be in a situation where it would go up in flames, so chemicals in the product may pose a greater danger to an infant. Additional research needs to be done on the chemicals used in our products and their potential far-reaching effects on the human body. According to Mike Brown PhD, of Brown-Wilmanns Environmental, a consultant on the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, the build up of synthetic chemicals and heavy metals in our bodies are on the rise, leading to concerns that substances that currently are not identified as hazardous may prove to be so in the future. Just today a new The New York Times article cited another study which found harmful chemicals in the foam of carpet padding, which is primarily recycled foam and identical to the foam in children&amp;#039;s items. This is another product category that needs assessment for the harmfulness of chemicals vs. the benefits for the environment of using recycled material. Here at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) we stay on top of the use of restricted chemicals and do not accept any products for use of the Green Good Housekeeping Seal that have any ingredients containing IARC Group 1, 2A, or Prop 65  reproductive and/or development toxins. We&amp;#039;re always upset when we find that companies remove restricted chemicals and then replace them with more dangerous ones. As GHRI is very concerned about the flammability of textile products, we carefully monitor the Halloween costume market for costumes that pose a flammability hazard. There are many fabrics including wool, nylon, and acrylic, to name a few, that are inherently flame retardant and we advocate using them as much as possible in all products that will be used by consumers of all ages. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a23755/safety-chemicals-in-baby-gear/>