3 May 2015
There are over 80,000 chemicals in use today. The story of TRIS, removed from children’s pajamas in the 1970s, illustrates just how hard it is to regulate chemicals, or to even know if they’re safe.…
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Apr 9 2015
This week, we’re bringing you a series of stories about firefighters and cancer. Firefighters say they’re worried about getting exposed to certain kinds of toxic flame retardant chemicals.…
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Jan 23 2015
New safety regulations allow upholstered furniture to be made without flame retardants, but consumers may find it difficult to tell whether a retailer’s new couches and chairs are free of the toxic, ineffective chemicals. A handful of industry leaders say they have largely purged flame retardants from their supply chains.…
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30 Nov 2014
A growing body of evidence found an array of flame-retardant chemicals – many which are carcinogenic – in test participants, a potential health concern for firefighters and others exposed to the chemicals. The most recent study on flame-retardant chemicals, released in October, found the flame-retardant chemical chlorinated Tris in the blood and urine of all but one of the 16 nonsmoking adults tested in the study.…
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I bought my sofa in California, “home” of the TB117 standard. I know 75-94% of sofas tested contain flame retardants. And clear as day, sewn onto my couch was a TB117 label. You would think I’d take the hint, but I was convinced that my sofa was okay. My sofa was nice! Then I had it tested and found out my foam wasn’t so nice. The foam contained TDCPP (chlorinated Tris) and TPP (triphenyl phosphate). High levels of TDCPP and…
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21 Jul 2014
Most of Aimee Robinson’s customers are moms. And more of them are starting to ask questions about the contents of the couches and chairs she constructs.…
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4 Jul 2014
…The demand for cleaner furnishings across the country is leading to some other unconventional furniture behavior. Two weeks ago in the Bay Area in California, a foam business owner teamed up with a longtime researcher for a “Safer Sofa Foam Exchange.” Rather than replacing a still-useful sofa, customers could bring in their old couch cushions, have them measured, and order flame retardant-free replacement foam, at a discounted price…
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18 Jun 2014
When Lori Yonelunas decided to detoxify her life, she knew she had to do something about her toxic leather couch but was reluctant to get rid of it. The Campbell woman understood that the foam in her relatively new eight-cushion sectional contained harmful flame-retardant chemicals.…
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