As the committee hearing and debate goes on this summer over the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 even more information has come out about the links between the chemicals in our homes and the danger it poses to our health. This serves as an urgent reminder that consumers need the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 to help protect them.

In mid-June, multiple national news outlets reported on a new study published by Environmental Health Perspectives that found further links connecting PBDEs – a common chemical used as a flame retardants in carpets, mattresses, couches, and electronics -  to problems with the thyroid hormone in pregnant women. The study, which looked at 270 pregnant women, found that women with higher levels of PBDEs in their bodies had lower levels of the thyroid stimulating hormone in their bodies by anywhere from 10.9 to 18.7%. These levels meet the definition for sub-clinical hyperthyroidism – indicating an early stage of thyroid malfunction. When the thyroid malfunctions (know as clinical hyperthyroidism) pregnant woman can possibly have children with birth defects, suffer from in-uterine growth problems, experience miscarriages, or have stillbirths.

What’s most shocking about the study, researchers note, is that the levels of PBDEs that were tested in women and caused sub-clinical hyperthyroidism is fairly typical among American women. These are risk that most American woman – who are exposed to products like conventional mattresses, carpets,  foam couches, and electronics – face. This is due in large part to antiquated flame retardant regulations, most companies refusal to use non-toxic alternatives in products that we use, and poor regulation of toxic chemicals by federal agencies. Matthew S. Tejada, the executive director of Air Alliance Houston*, believes that these types of discoveries about how our home environment effects our health aren’t going to end. He says “On the health perspective, the horror story is only going to get worse. The deeper we dig as more research is done, we are only going to find [out] more about the nasty impacts of what we buy.”

As more studies like this one are released and as we discover more about the dangerous chemicals in products we use everyday, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we need regulations to protect us as consumers so that we don’t have to live in fear. The Safe Chemicals Act can protect us and it’s something we need NOW. Tejada says “For decades we just let these chemicals go totally unregulated. The way food and medicine are regulated is [good], but the regulatory structure formed by the EPA is so weak that it’s effectively not regulated.” The Safe Chemicals Act is a strong start towards something that has enormous potential to help us as consumers find safe products for our family and ourselves, helping to ensure that we are protected from chemicals like PBDEs. Click here to send a letter to congress and find out more about what you can do to support the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010.

If you’re wondering what to do now though, the best way to protect yourself is by researching what’s in the products in your home and making smart decisions by choosing non-toxic alternatives that we are sure are safe for our homes and our families.

Find out more:

The Environmental Health Perspectives Study Profiled Here

LA Times – Household Chemicals Linked to Reduced Fertility

Slate Magazine – Why are flame retardants required in furniture anyway?

* Air Aliance Houston is a group that works on outdoor and indoor air quality in the Houston-Galveston region. To see their website click here.