EPA lists safer alternatives to toxic flame retardants

Washington – Safer alternatives are available for toxic flame retardants used in commercial products such as building insulation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Certain flame-retardant chemicals – including hexabromocyclododecane and pentabromodiphenyl ether – have been linked to reproductive, developmental and neurological problems. EPA’s Design for the Environment Alternatives Assessment Program has identified flame-retardant alternatives for HBCD and pentaBDE.

“EPA’s findings for safer alternatives is great news for consumers and industry,” Jim Jones, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press release. “We will now have safer alternatives for use in our products from furniture to car seats to building insulation.”