Flame retardant may make young kids aggressive, inattentive

Flame retardants added to household furniture, electronics and numerous other goods to prevent fires may make young children more likely to exhibit aggression, inattention and bullying, a new study has claimed.
The most common types of flame retardants found in the built environment are brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) and organophosphate-based flame retardants (OPFRs).
OPFRs emerged as an alternative to BDEs in an effort to address some environmental health concerns posed by BDEs, which tend to remain in the environment for long periods.
Researchers from Oregon State University in the US found a significant relationship between social behaviours among children and their exposure to widely used flame retardants.

"When we analysed behaviour assessments and exposure levels, we observed that the children who had more exposure to certain types of the flame retardant were more likely to exhibit externalising behaviours such as aggression, defiance, hyperactivity, inattention and bullying," said Molly Kile, an associate professor at OSU.
"This is an intriguing finding because no one had previously studied the behavioural effects of organophosphate classes of flame retardants, which have been added to consumer products more recently," said Kile.

Past research has shown that both BDEs and OPFRs are linked to poorer cognitive function in children.
For this study, researcher team recruited 92 children between ages 3-5 to wear a silicone wristband for seven days to measure exposure to flame retardants.

The wristbands have a porous surface that mimics a cell, absorbing chemicals that people are exposed to through their environment.
When the wristbands are returned, researchers screened for up to 1,200 chemicals that may accumulate.
Researchers had parents complete questionnaires about socio-demographics and home environment and preschool teachers completed behaviour assessments for 69 participating children.
The analysis showed that all of the children were exposed to some level of flame retardant. Children who had higher exposure rates of OFPRs showed less responsible behaviour and more aggression, defiance, hyperactivity, inattention and bullying behaviours.
Children with higher exposure to BDEs were seen as less assertive by their teachers.

"We detected these links between flame retardant and children's social behaviours while controlling for differences in family demographics, home learning environments and adversity," researchers said.
"This suggests that flame retardants may have a unique effect on development apart from the effects of children's early social experiences," they said.
The study was published in the journal Environmental Health.