Flame Retardants

Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research

Flame Retardants

Flame retardants, commonly added to foam, electronics and building materials, are an environmental hazard, especially for young children. Toxicological studies indicate that certain flame retardants may affect brain development. A team of interdisciplinary OSU researchers received pilot project funding from the Environmental Health Sciences Center Pilot Project program to investigate if exposure to flame retardants affected children's neurological and cognitive performance. The study, titled "Effect of Flame Retardants and Home Environment on Children's School Readiness" worked with 100 preschool-aged children in Corvallis and Bend, OR.

For the study, each child wore a passive wristband sampler for one week. These wristbands are capable of measuring thousands of chemicals.

The research team also collected household dust samples, and evaluated the children for various behavioral and neurological benchmarks. Upon analysis of results, the researchers returned data back to the families in the form of a report with their findings.