Don't these terms sound like some wacky experiment from your high school chemistry class? They should be relegated to experimental test tubes, but instead, they're lurking in your child's bed! And yours!
PBDE, in particular, is very dangerous because it accumulates in your body over time, when you inhale it- it doesn't come out, it just builds up. These flame retardant chemicals are so toxic they have been banned in Europe and in Canada. They have been linked to brain and reproductive damage, decreased sperm quality, thyroid problems and even cancer, according to this Dr. Mercola article.
Not to mention formaldehyde, a known cancer causing chemical, and antimony, a metal Dr. Mercola says could be more toxic than mercury.
Check out this info in his article, this is truly scary:
"The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has tested the fire-retardant chemicals currently used in mattresses and found the risks to be “insignificant.”
However, they also found that the chemicals do, in fact, leach from the mattresses. A person sleeping on a chemically treated mattress will absorb .8 mg of antimony every night, an amount that is 27 times more than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is safe.
Five-year-old children, meanwhile, will absorb .5 mg of antimony every night, according to CPSC, which is 63 times more than the EPA’s safety limit!
Given the fact that antimony accumulates in your body over time, this could clearly present a significant risk over time."
Sounds like just the recipe for a good night's sleep, huh? Since we spend so much time sleeping, and since sleeping is the time that the body is supposed to be restoring itself, not storing up new toxins, we've gone all organic in our bedrooms for our family.
Our boys both have organic crib mattresses, and we've selected a great twin mattress that we want for Nathaniel's transition to a "big boy bed." This is the one we're looking at, by a company called Naturepedic:
Check it out at http://www.naturepedic.com/productsMA.php
This is an awesome organic company that makes a variety of mattresses- everything from bassinet/cradle mattresses to queen size.
I will be sure to let you know how we like their twin mattress once we're able to test it out!
For more info on the toxicity of mattresses, check out these articles:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/11/is-your-mattress-making-you-sick.aspx
http://safemama.com/2008/07/29/organic-mattresses-naturepedic-review/
1 comment:
Thanks for pointing this out :) :) You know formaldehyde is so bad...and I am aware that it's also used in some fabrics, too. I think it serves as a way to keep the color strong...but for me, why would I want that next to my skin? I don't...that's for science experiments :) :) Thanks for posting all the links. I'm going to take a look at it later today :) :) Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)
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