Identification of Flame Retardants in Polyurethane Foam Collected from Baby Products
Study by H. M. Stapleton, S. Klosterhaus, A. Keller, P. L. Ferguson, S. van Bergen, E. Cooper, T. F. Webster and A. Blum
Lab Survey of Foam Samples · Environmental Science & Technology (Vol. 45, Issue 12, pp. 5323-5331) · DOI: 10.1021/es2007462
Key Takeaway
Most Baby Product Foams Tested Held Flame Retardants
What was tested: Volunteers sent in foam from 101 baby products, mostly car seats, changing pads, sleep positioners, portable crib mattresses and nursing pillows. Scientists tested the foam for flame retardant chemicals with mass spectrometry (Stapleton et al., 2011).
What the numbers showed: 80 of the 101 samples held an identified flame retardant, and all but one of those were chlorinated or brominated. TDCPP, a chlorinated tris compound, was found in 36% of samples. Five samples still held PentaBDE, a chemical phased out in the U.S. in 2004.
What this means for you: This study tested baby products bought mostly between 2000 and 2010, not adult mattresses. It shows these chemicals were common in that foam at the time. It does not tell you what is in any mattress sold today.
Key Numbers
How the Study Was Done
The researchers asked for foam samples through email lists, mainly in the U.S. Donors cut a small square of foam from a baby product and filled in a short survey about the product, the year it was bought and any California flammability label. 14 of the products were bought new in 2010 for the study; the rest were already in use (Stapleton et al., 2011).
Each sample was screened with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, then checked again with high resolution mass spectrometry. Samples with a flame retardant were tested a second time to measure how much was in the foam. The team also tested whether a handheld X-ray scanner could flag bromine or chlorine in foam.
Why baby products had these chemicals: foam in some baby products counted as juvenile furniture under California's furniture fire rule, Technical Bulletin 117. That rule did not require chemicals, but foam makers often added them to pass it.
What the Samples Showed
No Flame Retardant Found
21 of the 101 foam samples.
Flame Retardant Found
80 of the 101 foam samples. All but one of these were chlorinated or brominated.
What the Study Found
TDCPP was the most common flame retardant, found in 36% of samples, followed by chemicals from the Firemaster 550 mixture (17%). A chemical sold as V6, not reported in the environment before, was found in 15%. TDCPP levels ranged from 2.4 to 124 mg per gram of foam, and one product was 12.5% TDCPP by weight (Stapleton et al., 2011).
The authors note that earlier studies found TDCPP caused mutations in a lab bacteria test and more tumors in rats. Using CPSC exposure estimates, they predicted that infants may take in more TDCPP from these products than the CPSC's acceptable daily intake. They called for studies that measure infants' actual exposure.
The work was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with partial support from a private donation. An earlier version of this page described the samples as bedding products and called TDCPP a known cancer-causing chemical. The paper studied baby products and reports the rat tumor findings above, so both claims were corrected.
How to Apply This Study When Choosing a Mattress
What it tells you: Flame retardant chemicals were common in polyurethane foam in U.S. baby products bought between 2000 and 2010.
If this matters to you, ask the maker whether chemical flame retardants were added to the foam in the product you are buying. This study did not test adult mattresses or compare mattress brands.
Study Scope and Limitations
Donated samples, not a random sample of products. Most were baby products bought between 2000 and 2010. The study measured chemicals in foam, not in air, dust or children's bodies, and it did not test adult mattresses.
Primary Citation
Stapleton, H. M., Klosterhaus, S., Keller, A., Ferguson, P. L., van Bergen, S., Cooper, E., Webster, T. F., & Blum, A. (2011). Identification of flame retardants in polyurethane foam collected from baby products. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(12), 5323-5331. https://doi.org/10.1021/es2007462