Market Watch, October 1, 2008
Excerpt: NEWTON, Mass., Oct 01, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- People and homes in California have been found to have significantly higher levels of toxic flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), compared to other locations in the country and the world. A new peer-reviewed study published online in Environmental Science & Technology provides evidence that California's unique furniture flammability standard, requiring furniture to be fire resistant to an open flame for 12 seconds, has led to increased exposure to penta-BDE, a commercial flame retardant mixture added to polyurethane furniture foam to meet the standard.