The Environmental Factor, Newsletter of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), November 2008
By Eddy Ball
Excerpt: Investigators funded by an NIEHS Environmental Justice Program grant report high levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), ubiquitous compounds used as a fire retardant in furniture, in the house dust and serum of people living in California. Serum levels of the compound penta-BDE in residents of California were twice the national average. House dust levels in California ranged from 4 to 10 times levels found in homes in other parts of the United States — and 200 times levels reported in Germany.