[Pharmwaste] Mystery solved: How household toxics get into the environment

[DeBiasi, Deborah (DEQ)]

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Mystery-solved-How-household-toxics-get-into-the-environment-275536471.html

Mystery solved: How household toxics get into the environment
By Jeff Burnside<http://www.komonews.com/tv/people/189107931.html>Published: Sep 17, 2014 at 7:19 PM PDTLast Updated: Sep 17, 2014 at 7:56 PM PDT


SEATTLE -- Scientists have well chronicled the vast reach of flame retardants in waterways and wildlife -- even in the most remote corners of the planet.

But exactly how toxic flame retardants get from inside homes and then out into the environment has never been confirmed until now, says the author of a new study.

The peer-reviewed study<http://watoxics.org/homestowaters> published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found household flame retardants, a portion of which degrades into dust, cling to our clothing and are then washed away in our washing machines.

The wastewater then goes to municipal treatment plants, where it passes through into the environment. While some levels of certain kinds of flame retardants tend to cling to sludge and then disposed on land, much of it is water soluble and exits the treatment plants directly into waterways.

"The levels that we found in the effluent add up to make these a very significant water pollutant," said Erika Schreder, study lead author and staff scientist with the Washington (State) Toxics Coalition. "The fact that these flame retardants are being discharged in large quantities into our waterways is a threat to human health and it's a threat to our fish and wildlife."

The study was done in Washington State with volunteer families near the Columbia River,<http://komonews.s3.amazonaws.com/ColumbiaRiverkeymessages.docx> where water treatment plants discharge into the river. The study found 21 types of flame retardants in the dust inside the volunteer family households. The amount of flame retardant decreased as it made its way from dust onto clothing, into the washing machines and out in the effluent heading toward the treatment plants.

Flame retardants have been used for years to slow flames on everything from children's clothing to rugs, foam inside furniture, mattresses, electronic components, power cords, and more. But newer science is better documenting the toxic threat from the varying kinds of flame retardants, linking some to cancer, reproductive problems, increased hyper activity, decreased IQ and hormone disruption, say advocates.

Environmental health experts say traces of flame retardant can be found in the blood of virtually every American. Science is unclear, though, on what level represents a health threat. And often it is not possible to conclude that one person's illness is caused by toxic flame retardants, which is why advocates urge the prudence of a cautionary approach to regulating known toxics.

Certain kinds of flame retardants, like PBDE, have already been banned in Washington State and elsewhere. But advocates and some state legislators complain the chemical industry alters the chemistry enough to skirt the ban. So they are pushing for the "Toxic Free Kids and Family Act" that would expand the ban and give authorities the flexibility of including new chemical constructions of equally toxic replacements.

"We know it's affecting children's health and our grandchildren's health," said State Sen. Sharon Nelson, 34th Legislative District. "And now we know more about how it's getting into the ecosystem and the damage it's doing to Puget Sound and our waterways."

The chemical industry trade association has fought vigorously against proposed bans around the country and has come under increasing criticism. It combined efforts with the Association of Washington Business in lobbying state lawmakers against more stringent regulation arguing, in part, that it would hurt the economy.

Top killer whale researchers for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say flame retardants are found in endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales because they consumes salmon tainted with the toxics.

Some kinds of flame retardant bioaccumulate and build up in blubber. The toxics can be a threat to their immune system at a time when other human-caused stresses are also having a negative impact on their health, say federal scientists. They add Southern Resident Killer Whales are among the most toxic animals on the planet with contaminants like DDT, PCB and now flame retardants.

Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   Deborah.DeBiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov<http://www.deq.virginia.gov/>
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permits
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219
PH:         804-698-4028      FAX:      804-698-4032

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