Expert: Henry Boyter - 8/2/2004

Question
Thank you for your quick response.

In answer to your questions:

My daughter was tested for lead at her 18 month check up and her levels were very low, and we do not have lead paint in our apartment. We do not have radon because we live in a leaky second floor apartment. We will be drilling a well as we build our new house and the water will be tested. We currently use a reverse osmosis filtration system for our drinking water. We eat healthy, minimally processed foods, and have an organic garden. We have no pets. My husband meticulously maintains our vehicles. And yes, we realize that there is a bigger picture within which many situations are out of our direct control. To the extent we can protect ourselves and family from the hazards of daily life, we strive to do so, and this is one of those cases. There are flame retardants which use different chemicals (as in those European countries which have already banned PBDEs) and a major company in the US sought to use one in its foam; however, in testing the product, they found that the chemical turned the foam brown, and furniture manufacturers insist on snow white foam eventhough consumers never see it. The fact that the Centers for Disease Control has PBDE on its priority list is cause for concern. Anyway, I have left my toddler where she is while I continue to pursue sample testing.
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Followup To
Question -
I have a two and a half year old toddler in a family day care. She receives excellent care except that the family also does re-upholstery when the children are gone. The problem is that their shop is in the garage, and the day care area adjoins the garage. Parents walk through the garage/shop to drop off and pick up their children. I have read about PBDEs (which is widely used as a flame retardant in furniture foam) on the CDC website as well as other websites and have been concerned by results of studies which show increasing levels of PBDEs in breastmilk and fat. More alarming have been experiments conducted on mice which showed harmful effects on the thyroid which in turn adversely affected coordination and neurological development, when PBDE was fed to them. I realize that people are not mice, but PBDE is similar in molecular structure to PCBs, and that has been shown to be harmful to mice and people. In fact, PBDEs are considered the PBCs of the '90s and it has already been banned in many European countries. I am looking to put my child in a different day care but would hate to do it without knowing if she is in fact at greater risk for exposure to PBDE than the general population  because high quality day care in my area is difficult to come by. I have tried in vain to find a lab which would test dust samples taken from the day care. My questions to you are do you know how I can get an environmental sample tested, or where can I have a blood sample taken from my daughter tested; and do you know what levels might be considered unacceptably high? I would appreciate any information you can give me here. My daugher is very happy in her present day care but I worry about her long term health.
Answer -
This is of course just my opinion.  Read the disclaimer below.

LEAVE YOUR CHILD WHERE SHE IS !

PBDE has never been shown to be harmful to humans.  I believe the rat studies are equivalent to your child eating a couch or more once per week of the correct PBDE.  Note that there are three major types, only two of which are being banned.  Most usage is the third type.  And if we suddenly ban it, what are we going to use.  Remember it is there to prevent funriture and materials from catching on fire.  So we need an alternative so we don't start having the old problems of furniture catching on fire and the alternative may be just as bad.

There are very few labs testing PBDE.  Try

http://www.accuchem.com/tox/toxnewsletterOct03.htm

http://www.stl-inc.com/downloads/downloads.htm

http://www.datlab.com/

It will not be cheap.  I suspect $250-$1000 per sample.

While you are at it test other things your child is exposed to at home.  If you have a well, when is the last time you had a complete water check done.  Has your home been checked for radon, a known and prevalent cancer risk.  It should be checked at least in winter and summer the first time.  Any asbestos or lead paint in the house?  Unless you have checked, you don't know.  Pets in the house? Have you checked on pet dander and pet allergens.  They can cause health problems.  Just trying to point out, that there are more potential real threats at your house than at this day care.  Have your dust samples tested and have the lab analyzing them direct you from there.  For blood samples, see your doctor.  Don't stop your concern.  Just look at the big picture.  There are many more things you can do as a family.  Tuned your car up lately to reduce hazardous emissions?

Henry Boyter Jr., PhD

The opinions of  Dr. Boyter are provided for
informational purposes only and should not be
used as advice.  No warranty or expression of
professionalism is implied.  

Answer
Sounds good.  You are probably the one in ten thousand or more households that takes such precautions.  Good job.  On your well.  Be sure to do more than the minimum testing required (usually just bacteria depending on the state).  At least do primary USEPA drinking water standards and I suggest doing the secondary also.  This will give you a good baseline for the future.  And do some tests each year.  I've seen wells that haven't been tested in forty years, even for bacteria.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/mcl.html

One last thing.  An organic garden is great.  Be careful if you buy organic produce.  Several studies have shown that children can become sick from eating store bought because people are not cleaning it well, thinking if it is organic it can't be harmful.  They forget that one of the fertilizers used is manure and kids are getting viruses in their bellies, some very serious.  It is mostly a problem with leaf products since most people don't wash the insides very well.  There is even a study that veggies are absorbing the viruses into the leafs themselves.  If this is generally true, manure may have to be limited as a pollutant.  It is never easy.

Good luck.