APHA Calls for PBDE Phaseout

The American Public Health Association, representing more than 50,000 researchers, health-service providers, administrators, teachers, and other health workers, has called for a phaseout of all polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, including the widely used deca-BDE. The organization made its recommendation in light of “emerging science on the inherent toxicity and persistence of PBDEs, evidence of adverse health effects on animals, and the prevalence and rising levels in fish, biota, and human breast milk.” The policy also calls for incentives for the development of alternatives, labeling of chemical flame retardants, an expansion of the national biomonitoring program to include PBDEs, and federal funding for further research. The full policy is posted online at www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/index.cfm?fuseaction=view&id=1288. For more on PBDEs and other flame retardants, see

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Vol. 13, No. 6.