Issues > January/February 2005 (#106) > Furniture, Mattresses and Flame Retardants

Furniture, Mattresses and Flame Retardants

The Green Guide recently received an email from Bob Luedeka, associate director of the Polyurethane Foam Association, in response to "Green Homes: Healthy Living Interviews Mindy Pennybacker." Mr. Luedeka takes issue with points raised in her recommendation to choose furniture made with natural products.

In the text below, we have used italics to indicate excerpts from the original article, followed by Bob Ludeka's comments (PFA) and our responses (TGG).

7) Choose Furniture Made with Natural Products

Much of the furniture manufactured in and for the US is made with polyurethane and contains cushioning with fire retardants also known as PBDE's (polybrominated diphenyl ethers).

PFA: PBDE FR [flame retardant] additives have primarily been used in foam and fabrics going into upholstered furniture manufactured for sale in California, where there has been a state flammability requirement for more than 20 years that necessitates the use of FR additives in foam used for furniture cushioning. It would be the exception rather than the rule to find FR-treated cushioning outside the state of California.

TGG: We checked this point with Alex Wilson, the executive editor of Environmental Building News, to reconfirm. According to Wilson, "This comment from Bob Ludeka is quite odd—and wrong. My understanding is that PBDE, especially the "penta" form, is widely used in polyurethane foam for upholstered furniture—even though production of penta is due to end at the end of this year through a voluntary agreement. In fact, my wife and I were considering buying a new sofa two weeks ago from a local dealer (in Brattleboro). The local furniture store sold a line of sofas made in North Carolina (where most U.S. furniture is made). I expressed concern about the flame retardants, and the local dealer called the furniture maker, who in turn contacted the foam supplier (Carpenter Foam). Carpenter faxed a sheet about their use of penta PBDE—and why there's nothing wrong with it. Penta PBDE is still widely used in polyurethane foam for furniture throughout the U.S., though indeed California does have tighter flame resistance standards that result in greater use of FRs in some products."

We also checked with a number of our other PBDE experts. Starting with California, Rajinder Sandheu, a chemist with California's Bureau of Home Furnishings, noted that all mattresses and furniture have to meet TB106, a performance standard involving a cigarette smoldering test. Beginning January 2005, mattresses will also have to meet an open flame test. Until now, the California standard for mattresses has been no different from national standard. But the furniture standard is different, requiring products meet open flame and cigarette burn standards. Companies selling furniture in California have to be licensed, and furniture and mattresses must be labeled noting filling content and flammability. Rajinder Sandheu pointed out, however, that most other states do follow the flammability standards California sets. In fact, the Polyurethane Foam Association's own website notes that several other states have adopted California's open flame test requirements for furniture used in "public occupancies." (www.pfa.org/jifsg/jifsgs14.html)

The most direct evidence, however, for PBDEs in foam throughout the U.S. is in the dust collecting in houses, as three recent studies have shown. In September 2004, Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) published a Canadian study of PBDEs in indoor and outdoor air. In an accompanying article, Kellyn Bates writes for ES&T that "The fact that products found in almost every North American home—including upholstered couches, chairs, curtains, carpet padding, and mattresses—contain high levels of brominated flame retardants is one of the reasons that scientists are so concerned. All 74 of the randomly selected homes in Ottawa, Canada, tested in the new study had detectable levels of PBDEs, and the mix of individual PBDE compounds, or congeners, found was consistent with the recently discontinued Penta formulation." As Building Green notes, penta-BDEs are used in foam. This followed on a study of household dust in Cape Cod homes published in ES&T in October 2003 which found penta-BDEs in 89 homes tested.

A third study, Environmental Working Group's In the Dust report found penta-BDEs in household dust in houses across the nation with highest concentrations appearing in homes in Oregon, Montana and Washington D. C. In particular, In The Dust notes, "We chose to treat one participant's sample separately because she had used her vacuum to clean up polyurethane foam residues when she removed carpet padding, two mattress pads, and an uncovered foam cushion from her home. Her sample contained 41,203 ppb of PBDEs — a level twice as high as reported in any previous study." This was the Montana resident.

 

 

PBDEs account for 30% of the foam padding's weight.

PFA: The possible PBDE content is a maximum of 8% by weight.

TGG: It is incorrect to say that PBDE content is a maximum of 8% by weight. The source for our 30 percent by weight is the World Health Organizations 1994 publication, "Environmental Health Criteria 162: Brominated Diphenyl Ethers." It has become a standard reference number, used by ES&T, Building Green, and upheld by Linda Birnbaum director of the experimental toxicology division in the EPA's national health and environmental effects research laboratory. However, by email, Alex Wilson, editor of Building Green, did note that, "I think that some products have been up to 30% BFR by weight in the past, but I doubt if many are that high today."

But as ES&T quoted Tom Harner, a research scientist with Environment Canada, the country's environmental protection agency, "The penta formulation is added to polyurethane foams at such high levels—5-30%, by weight—essentially, it's like having the pure chemical just sitting there, volatilizing to the air, all over the house. The house becomes like an equilibration chamber."

 

The retardants get into the air we breathe and are known to cause hormone disruption and inhibit fetal brain development in animals.

PFA: This has been reported and it is of concern to our members.

 

The European Union has banned the use of the most toxic PBDEs. To avoid PBDEs, choose furniture made with natural fibers such as cotton, wool (no fire retardant is necessary for wool) or natural latex.

PFA: As far as we know there is no difference in toxicity between the various PBDE's (penta, octa, deca). So far, none have proved to be toxic at real-life exposure levels. (Penta products were likely easiest to ban, because they were rarely used in Europe) Like FPF, cotton, wool and natural latex burn vigorously once ignited. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission is working on developing a national flammability standard that likely will require *all* cushioning products to meet the same combustion performance criteria. I can assure you that "natural" products will require equal or greater flame retardant treatments. It is also possible that even with FR additives, natural latex will not be able to comply.

TGG: Regarding the toxicity of penta, Linda Birnbaum, has told The Green Guide that while PBDEs come in several forms, "as far as adult exposures go, [penta-BDEs] are the most toxic."

Toxicity data on penta BDEs includes animal studies such as experiments showing interference with thyroid functioning and behavior. For an overview of these health concerns, see "Brominated Fire Retardants: Cause for Concern?" by Linda Birnbaum and Daniel F. Staskale in Environmental Health Perspectives (January 2004).

As for the CPSCS's new regulations, judging from a briefing for a public meeting held by the CPSC last week, it does look like requirements for fire retardants could increase, though that doesn't necessarily mean adding PBDEs to products. As Ken Giles, PR person for CPSC, said, "I've heard that it's possible to make a mattress with flame resistant ticking and barriers without any need for flame retardant chemicals." In fact, three varieties of Lifekind's flame-retardant-free, wool-wrapped, natural latex mattresses have met California's open flame requirements, the basis for CPSC's proposed regulations. As Ken Giles explained, this will be a performance standard not requiring any particular flame retardants.

 

Futon mattresses are a great alternative.

PFA: Futon mattresses are not necessarily constructed any differently than furniture cushions. Some have natural fillings such as cotton batting that must be treated with fire retardants to meet the federal mattress flammability standard for smoldering ignition. However, when FPF is used in mattresses, it does not currently require any FR treatment (not even in California) to meet the current federal mattress smoldering ignition standard. In this example, selecting an all-foam mattress may be one way to avoid fire retardants.

TGG: We agree that futons can also contain flame retardant chemicals.

As for the FR treatment of mattresses, the International Sleep Products Association itself notes that penta-BDEs have been used in mattress foam.

 

Visit greenguide.com for more reports. Find out what is in your current furniture by contacting the manufacturer. You can reduce your exposure incrementally-you don't have to replace everything at once!

PFA: Bottom line: Like your publication's readers, members of the Polyurethane Foam Association are concerned about the environmental, health, and safety effects of the products they manufacture. In just a few weeks (January 1, 2005) the only supplier of pentaBDE flame retardant additives will voluntarily remove them from the marketplace. There are now a number substitutes available to replace PBDE additives and PFA manufacturing members are far along in the process of converting to alternative technologies. Octa and Deca BDE products are not used in FPF production. Only pentaBDE has been used by our industry and primarily found in good to be sold in California. With the great majority of upholstered furniture found across the United States, there is no fire retardant in the FPF cushioning whatsoever.

Bob Luedeka
Associate Director
Polyurethane Foam Association (www.pfa.org)

TGG: The Green Guide applauds the voluntary halt in production of penta, however as noted above our research indicates that foam cushioning across the United States includes PBDEs.

At The Green Guide, we remain diligent in our efforts to ensure that we report the facts accurately and are up-to-date with current research. Although Bob Luedeka tries to argue for minimal use of PBDEs by the polyurethane foam industry, we see no evidence to back up his claims. Indeed, polyurethane foam with flame retardant additives appears to be a major source of PBDEs in household dust.