Flame retardants are everywhere—in the couch in your fire station, the chair in your living room, the mattress pad in your child’s daycare. Plastics, wiring, foams, fabrics and insulation are all likely to contain flame retardants. We are all exposed to these chemicals in our homes and offices, day and night, every day.
When flame retardants burn—and they do burn—they produce a toxic black smoke that contains furans and dioxins. Furans and dioxins are known carcinogens, immune suppressors and endocrine disruptors that pose much greater health hazards to firefighters than the general public. Firefighters, who are routinely exposed to the byproducts of burning consumer products, have disproportionately high levels of four cancers associated with dioxin exposure: testicular cancer, melanoma, brain cancer and esophageal cancer.
A Duke University researcher tested 101 couches purchased between 1984 and 2010, and found that 85 percent of the couches contained harmful flame retardants. Chemicals tested in this study include chlorinated tris (TDCPP), listed as a carcinogen by California in 2011, pentabrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), globally banned due to toxicity and environmental persistence, and Firemaster 550, which studies have associated with obesity.
Despite claims by chemical manufacturers, the way that flame retardants are used in household products does little or nothing to limit the spread of fires. But as long as residential and commercial buildings have furniture containing flame retardants, firefighters will continue to be exposed to the toxic carcinogens they produce during combustion, putting their health and safety unnecessarily in danger.
In California, which represents one of the largest economic markets for furniture manufacturers, the use of flame retardants in upholstered furniture and other products containing polyurethane foam dates back to 1975, when California adopted and mandated Technical Bulletin 117, an open flame standard. Almost 40 years later, in 2013, California adopted Technical Bulletin 117-2013, a smolder standard that more closely replicates how residential fires most often start, and that now allows upholstered furniture to meet this fire safety standard without the use of flame retardants.
This change has had a very positive impact for consumers. Most U.S.-based furniture manufacturers and retailers have now moved to distributing and selling furniture that does not contain flame retardants. However, imported furniture remains an issue and is known to contain flame retardants that have been phased out of use in the U.S. because of safety concerns. In addition, many hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country have pledged to only purchase flame-retardant-free furniture for their facilities. While these developments are positive, furniture made with flame retardants is likely to remain in people’s homes and healthcare facilities for decades, leaving firefighters at risk. Moreover, the U.S. furniture market is still not 100 percent flame-retardant free.
Studying firefighter exposure
Dust in fire stations is also a source of exposure to flame retardants, according to research by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control Laboratories. Recently, the IAFF collected dust samples from vacuum cleaners used to clean fire station living quarters in New York, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas and California. The IAFF is currently conducting a similar study of dust in firehouses across Canada.
Dust residue inside fire stations contain flame retardants that are transported back from the fireground and adhered to apparatus and turnout gear. Once brought into the fire station, dust can remain and accumulate on walls, fabric and other surfaces, becoming a continuing source of exposure. When dust is disturbed, it can recirculate, re-exposing personnel in the fire station. Flame retardants contained in dust can be absorbed through the skin, inhaled or ingested, and can accumulate in the systems of the human body.
The IAFF study also tested fire station dust for five organophosphate flame retardants (OPFR) used as substitutes for organohalogen flame retardants that are being phased out due to the overwhelming evidence of toxicity. OPFRs are used in furniture, plastics and electronic equipment. Unfortunately, some of the OPFR chemicals are proving to be at least as toxic as the chemicals they are replacing. Some are considered to be carcinogens, and others are linked with a range of other health concerns.
The results of the IAFF dust analysis found that the median level of flame retardants, including both legacy flame retardants and replacement flame retardants, in fire station dust from the participating fire stations is significantly higher than levels found in the dust of other occupational sites, including dust samples from airplanes, electronic waste sites, offices and residences.
One commonly used flame retardant in particular—TDCiPP—was found at levels equal to or above some of the legacy flame retardants. TDCPP (aka chlorinated tris) is considered a carcinogen by California Prop 65, which was enacted in 1986 to help Californians make informed decisions about protecting themselves from chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Further, research is being conducted by the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) and Skidmore College on cardiovascular and chemical exposure risk in today’s fire service, which focuses on potential fireground exposures to chemicals, including flame retardants.
For the study, samples of furnishings and other materials used in two bedroom fires were collected and analyzed for chemical composition, including flame retardants. Bedroom fires were ignited in an upholstered chair, which led to flashover and complete involvement of both rooms. During this time, samples were collected from the air to allow researchers to characterize which flame retardants can be carried and deposited on firefighter turnout gear.
Some of these compounds can also deposit on unprotected skin (including potentially through PPE interfaces) or be inhaled by those outside the structure who may not be wearing SCBA. Contamination on the PPE can be transferred to the skin while doffing PPE, to the apparatus while transporting back to the station, or to the station itself, depending on transport and cleaning protocols. Urine and blood samples were also collected from firefighters to determine if the contamination is present in the body and how long it may remain.
Final results are pending and in review, but some initial findings are featured in the Firehouse September issue supplement “10 Considerations Related to Cardiovascular & Chemical Exposure Risks,” produced by IFSI, UL and NIOSH, and sponsored by Globe (firehouse.com/12361314). One key from the initial summary of this important study found detectable levels of flame retardants in the air and on PPE surfaces during and after the fires, which could potentially lead to firefighters having higher biological levels of flame retardants than the general population.
Making changes
Several state and local IAFF affiliates have been actively engaged for more than a decade in lobbying lawmakers to reduce the use of and lower the exposures to chemical flame retardants. To date, 13 states have banned PBDEs and/or chlorinated tris, two widely used flame-retardant chemicals that are found in children’s products and residential furniture. Additionally, several states are considering actions that encompass an even broader range of flame retardants. But as PBDEs are phased out, they are being rapidly replaced by other flame retardants, some of which are yet to be tested for their effects on human health.
The legislative fight to remove flame retardants started in Washington State in 2005 and quickly moved across the country to several statehouses. Maine’s recently passed legislation is the strongest to date, with a complete ban on selling furniture that contains any flame retardants. The first such law, it establishes a new national precedent in banning all—rather than a specific class—of flame retardants.
Both Boston and Washington, DC, have led proactive changes at the local level. Boston will now allow upholstered furniture that does not contain flame retardants in commercial buildings with automatic sprinkler systems. Washington, DC was the first city to enact a ban on specific classes of flame retardants. And in San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors just passed a similar legislative initiative to ban flame-retardant chemicals from all furniture and children’s products.
The IAFF is also supporting two petitions pending before the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The first would ban the entire class of organohalogen flame retardants in upholstered furniture, children’s products, mattresses and plastic casings used in electronics. Filed in 2015, this petition is supported by a broad coalition, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and Worksafe.
On Sept. 20, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to grant the IAFF supported petition to begin the rulemaking process to ban the sale of four categories of consumer products if they contain any organohalogen flame retardants.
The vote is an exceptional victory, and the first time a federal agency has moved to prohibit an entire class of toxic flame retardants in order to protect Americans from chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems.
The move is also major a step forward in protecting firefighters from the hazards posed by this class of flame retardant chemicals. When consumer products containing these chemicals burn, the fire and smoke become more toxic. Firefighters have a much higher risk of suffering the negative, cancer‐causing effects of carcinogenic flame retardants, as those chemicals burn in a fire.
A second petition before the CPSC would adopt the smolder standard in California Technical Bulletin 117-2013 as the national standard for testing upholstered furniture. In addition, ASTM—an international standards organization—is currently developing a smolder standard for upholstered furniture equivalent to California TB 117-2013. Both implement a toxic-free approach that achieves fire safety without the application of flame retardants.
However, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is actively moving, much to the delight of the chemical companies that make flame retardants, to develop a new open flame standard for upholstered furniture—an antiquated testing method that does little to achieve fire safety. In its current draft, NFPA 277 would create a new large open-flame test that would add more flame retardants back into the marketplace, creating additional exposures for firefighters and the public. This standard—to be adopted at the local and state level—would take us back years in the work that has been completed to remove these harmful chemicals and reduce exposures to firefighters and the public they serve.
Chemical industry lobbyists continue to submit that some flame-retardant chemicals are not harmful and that new emerging chemistry is on the horizon. Yet, years later, firefighters are still exposed in their homes, fire stations and at exceptionally high rates on the fireground. It’s the compounding exposures that greatly impact firefighters. Growing evidence is demonstrating that due to the nature of firefighting work, firefighters inhale, ingest and absorb flame retardants. Several studies in animals and humans have found specific flame retardants do cause serious health issues.
What can firefighters do?
Clean and clean again. Wear SCBA during knockdown, overhaul and other activities where exposure to products of combustion is likely. Fire departments should conduct decontamination procedures of PPE during post-fire operations by washing PPE with a wet soapy solution and rinsing with water.
In addition, the cleansing of the skin with wet wipes or soap and water after the removal of PPE is critical. The hands, neck, face and any area of exposed skin not covered by station wear should be cleaned immediately. If contaminants are left on the skin, they may be absorbed in the skin. Upon return to the station, firefighters should shower to remove all debris from the skin.
PPE should be bagged after decon at the fire scene. Place the bagged PPE in a compartment rather than in the cab when returning to the station. All turnout gear, fire hoods and gloves should be laundered to prevent the spread of contaminated particulates throughout the station. These precautions will reduce the exposure to contaminated particulates.
