News and Comment
'For the Record' on whether old sofas can affect babies' weight
2 September 2011
Today, an article appeared in the Telegraph reporting research coming from Berkeley, California, examining the relationship between the use of a specific type of flame retardant, and infant birth weight. The article says that the effect on birth-weight of exposure to flame retardants can be similar to that of smoking during pregnancy. Some flame retardants (polybrominated dephenyl ethers) the journalist admits, have been banned in the EU. But the article nevertheless warns that “...the dangerous substances are found lurking in most homes in everyday items such as sofas”. However, the research in question was exclusively about these banned chemicals.
Read more in our For the Record piece.
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