ABSTRACT

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs) flame retardant chemicals, used in the manufacture of furniture, infant products, and electronics, are ubiquitous in U.S. households (Sjödin et al. 2008). An unintended consequence of California’s Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117)—a fire safety law promulgated in the 1970s which requires that furniture, baby, and other household products resist open flame (California Department of Consumer Affairs 2000; Zota et al. 2008)—is that PBDE concentrations in California children are now among the highest measured worldwide (Eskenazi et al. 2011). Until 2005, the predominant chemical flame retardant used to comply with TB 117 was pentaBDE (comprising congeners BDEs 47, 99, 100,

and 153). Although pentaBDE was banned in California and phased out by the manufacturer in 2004, pentaBDEs continue to leach from older household items. Exposure is also perpetuated by decaBDEs, still used in many electronic products, which can break down into lower-brominated congeners (Noyes et al. 2011). Because PBDEs are semivolatile and not chemically bound to substrates, they migrate into house dust, placing young children, who crawl on the floor and exhibit frequent hand-tomouth behaviors, at risk of higher exposures (Stapleton et al. 2008).