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>"Kids who live in homes with all vinyl flooring or living room couches that contain flame retardants have much higher concentrations of chemicals called semivolatile organic compounds in their blood and urine than other children. Researchers reported those results February 17 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Manufacturers commonly use semivolatile organic compounds, such as plasticizers and flame retardants, to make electronics, furniture and other household trappings (SN: 11/14/15, p. 10). “Many of these chemicals have been implicated in adverse health outcomes in children — things like ADHD, autism … even cancer,” environmental health researcher Heather Stapleton of Duke University said in a news conference. “It’s important that we understand the primary sources of these chemicals in the home.”
Stapleton and her colleagues investigated the in home exposure to semivolatile organic compounds of 203 children ages 3 to 6. The team collected dust and air samples, along with small pieces of items like couch cushions, from the kids’ homes. The researchers also gathered urine and blood samples from the children.
Children living in homes with all vinyl flooring had concentrations of a by-product of the plasticizer benzyl butyl phthalate in their urine of about 240 nanograms per milliliter on average. Meanwhile, kids living in homes with no vinyl flooring had only about 12 nanograms per milliliter on average. Children with the highest exposure showed 20 to 40 percent of the “reference dose” for benzyl butyl phthalate — that is, the highest daily dose that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe to ingest without negative consequences over a person’s lifetime."