Fire Retardents

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Publication
Gym creates healthier and safer foam pits

Press Release
LOCAL GYMNASTICS STUDIO REPLACES FOAM CUBES WITH CHEMICAL-FREE ALTERNATIVES REDUCING THE RISK OF DANGEROUS CHEMICAL EXPOSURE TO GYMNASTS

TURI’s work with the Science Advisory Board, 2023-2024 

Some of TURI’s work on flame retardants was in response to the Massachusetts Law, “An Act To Protect Children, Families, And Firefighters From Harmful Flame Retardants,” 2020. (Proposed regulations can be found here.) This law prohibits manufacturers and retailers from selling, manufacturing for sale, offering for sale, distributing in commerce, or importing into Massachusetts any product that contains any of 11 named flame retardants or their chemical analogues, the total weight of which is greater than 1000 PPM for any component part. The law applies to the following product categories: bedding, carpeting, children’s products, residential upholstered furniture or window treatments. 

Flame Retardant Information 

Since the 1950s synthetic flame retardant chemicals have been added to a range of products to meet flammability standards.  The earliest products were fabrics, then carpets, rugs, children’s sleepwear, mattresses, mattress pads, upholstered furniture, followed by plastic building insulation, automobiles and aircrafts, coatings, adhesives and electronics. 

Discovery of human and environmental health effects of these flame retardants as well as widespread exposures illuminated many examples of regrettable substitutions over the years. 

Firefighters in particular began to question the benefits of these chemical flame retardants as their burn products are often highly toxic dioxins and furans. Now we are engaged in finding safer alternative flame retardants where necessary while maintaining fire safety for everyone. 

To aid in understanding this complex issue, TURI created a Flame Retardant Subject Guide.    

For general information about Flame Retardants, see this page of TURI’s Flame Retardant Subject Guide.  In particular, check out this Factsheet by the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences:  https://guides.turi.org/ld.php?content_id=70805694 

 

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External Resources

    Walker’s Gymnastics and Dance Replaces Foam Pit Cubes

    If you own a gymnastic facility, you may not be aware that the foam pit cubes used to cushion landings contain flame retardants. Unfortunately, studies have shown that gymnasts, especially children, can have high levels of these toxins in their bodies. Janine Walsh, owner of Walker’s Gymnastics and Dance in Lowell, Mass., shares why she decided to purchase foam pit cubes without flame retardants. TURI provided a grant to help her make the switch.

    Gymnast Flame Retardant Collaborative Webinar

    Presenter is Courtney Carrington Courtney has a PhD in environmental health from the Boston University School of Public Health where she investigated flame retardant exposure among three populations nursing mothers office workers and gymnasts what you’ll hear about today she’s a former competitive gymnast herself and is the founder of the gymnasts flame-retardant collaborative she completed postdoctoral training at the Dartmouth Center for children’s environmental health and disease prevention research and is currently a postdoc federal post postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health that’s where her primary research focuses on endocrine disrupting chemicals and the effects on human fertility and reproduction the work she’s describing today was partially funded by the Community Grants Program here at the toxics use reduction Institute