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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="tab-interval:.5in"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"><a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/06/10/a-flame-retardant-commonly-found-in-vintage-furniture-may-be-affecting-human-sperm/?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)">https://www.salon.com/2020/06/10/a-flame-retardant-commonly-found-in-vintage-furniture-may-be-affecting-human-sperm/?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-no-proof:yes"><img border="0" width="759" height="391" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D63FD2.8B347040"></span><img width="32" height="32" src="cid:image002.png@01D63FD2.8B347040" alt="https://www.salon.com/design/images/icon_red-s.svg"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">Vintage sofa in living-room (Getty Images/ <span class="SpellE">Iuliia</span> <span class="SpellE">Zavalishina</span>) </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-outline-level:1"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:Roboto">A flame retardant commonly found in vintage furniture may be affecting human sperm</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-outline-level:2"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Roboto">The foam in old furniture may contain biphenyl-153, which decreases sperm quality and can cause birth defects</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-outline-level:5"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Roboto"><a href="https://www.salon.com/writer/matthew_rozsa"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">Matthew <span class="SpellE">Rozsa</span></span></a> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-outline-level:6"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Roboto">June 10, 2020 11:52PM (UTC)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">A new study reveals that <span class="SpellE">polybrominated</span> biphenyl-153 (PBB-153) — a <a href="https://www.salon.com/2010/06/10/dangers_flame_retardants/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">flame retardant</span></a> present in older consumer products, which has been banned since <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts68.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">1976</span></a> — may cause serious birth defects by altering the genetic code in sperm. The new study into this common household chemical raises questions about the present-day consequences of corporate malfeasance nearly half a century ago.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/polybrominated-biphenyl#:~:text=Polychlorinated%20biphenyls%20(PCBs)%20and%20polybrominated,are%20almost%20insoluble%20in%20water." target="_blank"><span class="SpellE"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">Polybrominated</span></span><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none"> biphenyls</span></a> tend to resemble white, off-white or beige powders at room temperature. Currently, biphenyl-153 is only manufactured in a very limited capacity, such as in electronics and electronic products sold in the European Union. In the past, however, biphenyl-153 was commonly used as a fire retardant in products like automobile upholstery, lacquers and coatings, as well as a flame retardant additive in molded plastics, textiles and synthetic fibers. Application of PBB and similar chemicals as flame retardants began in earnest after the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-25" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">Flammable Fabrics Act</span></a> was amended in 1967. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">Because these chemicals were so prevalent in consumer goods and did not stay within the confines of their application, the chemicals seeped into the environment. As they take a notoriously long time to break down, these pollutants are still accumulating today. The Centers for Disease Control <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PBDEs_FactSheet.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">notes</span></a> that both PBBs and a related group of chemicals, <span class="SpellE">polybrominated</span> diphenyl ethers (<a href="https://www.salon.com/2018/01/14/the-toxic-chemical-whack-a-mole-game_partner/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">PBDEs</span></a>), can be <a href="https://www.salon.com/2018/01/14/the-toxic-chemical-whack-a-mole-game_partner/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">found</span></a> in "furniture foam padding; wire insulation; rugs, draperies, and upholstery; and plastic cabinets for televisions, personal computers, and small appliances."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">As they leached out of household goods, PBBs began to be discovered in many places where they were not intended to be: meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, air, soil, fish and shellfish, and dust. Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit science foundation, studied the blood of 38 mothers and children and found that <a href="https://www.ewg.org/sites/humantoxome/chemicals/chemical.php?chemid=100246" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">all 38 had PBB-153</span></a> in their blood. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">There are also <a href="https://www.aaha.org/publications/newstat/articles/2019-03/study-if-either-of-you-ever-want-offspring-you-might-want-to-get-off-that-couch/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">concerns</span></a> that PBB-153 and another group of man-made chemicals, <span class="SpellE">diethylhexyl</span> phthalate (DEHP), could be responsible for the 50 percent global reduction in human sperm quality over the past 80 years. The same reduction in sperm quality has been observed by domesticated dogs. DEHP is present in carpets, floor tiles, furniture upholstery, rainwear, shoes, shower curtains, tablecloths and toys. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4348733/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information</span></a>, "because flame retardants are not chemically bonded to the foam [in products where they are used], they are able to escape into the surrounding environment." This is why people are especially likely to be exposed to dangerous flame retardant chemicals when they are indoors, or touching older couches that may have foam padding that is likely to have been treated with PBB-153 or similar chemicals.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">The recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65593-x?draft=collection" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">study</span></a> on PBB-153, which was published in the academic journal Scientific Reports and authored by University of Georgia environmental health science doctoral student Katherine Watkins <span class="SpellE">Greeson</span>, follows up on a scandal that occurred in 1973. In an incident known as "<span class="SpellE">Cattlegate</span>," a flame retardant known as <span class="SpellE">FireMaster</span> that contained PBB-153 was accidentally sent to state grain mills in Michigan and eventually entered the local food supply. The company that manufactured <span class="SpellE">FireMaster</span>, <span class="SpellE">Velsicol</span> Chemical Company, also manufactured a nutritional supplement called <span class="SpellE">NutriMaster</span>, and the two were <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65593-x" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">mistaken</span></a> at the factory. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">Experts believe that as many as 6.5 million Michiganders were exposed to PBB-153 as a result of this incident, and scientists have hypothesized that illnesses such as cancers, skin discoloration, joint pain, headaches and dizziness resulted from it. There were also a number of birth defects that seemed to be linked to the chemical, including hernias and scrotum buildup for boys and a higher rate of miscarriages or stillborn births for girls.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">"Though it has been nearly 45 years since the accident, people who were exposed through the consumption of contaminated animal products and those exposed in utero and through breastmilk still have circulating levels of PBBs," <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65593-x?draft=collection#Sec5" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">the authors of the study wrote</span></a>. "As recently as 2015, 60% of tested members of the PBB Registry have elevated levels of PBB above the ninety-fifth percentile of the U.S. population. The half-life of PBB is estimated to be between 10 and 29 years, which may explain why people are still experiencing health issues related to this accident."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">The authors added that, through their research, they had learned that PBBs altered sperm in a way that "has the potential to cause diseases in offspring," including "improper parent-of-origin gene imprinting in offspring" which can cause diseases like Silver-Russell Syndrome. They also pointed to the specific ways that sperm are compromised by the chemical as an explanation for why "the children of people directly exposed to PBB during the initial exposure have different health effects compared to their parents, including reproductive problems."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Roboto">Speaking to a news outlet for the University of Georgia, <span class="SpellE">Greeson</span> <a href="https://news.uga.edu/study-birth-defects-flame-retardant/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#ee2c1d;text-decoration:none">explained</span></a> that "hopefully this work will lead to more studies combining epidemiology and bench science in the future, which will tell us more about why we're seeing an effect from an environmental exposure in human populations and encourage experimental studies to more closely mimic human exposures."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc">Deborah L. DeBiasi<br><b>Email: <a href="mailto:Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov">Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</a><i><br></i></b>WEB site address: <a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0000cc">www.deq.virginia.gov</span></a><br>Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Water Permits <br>State Coordinator for Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Programs<br>PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0000cc">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/DentalRule.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0000cc">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/DentalRule.aspx</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218<br>Location: 1111 E. Main Street, Suite 1400 Richmond, VA 23219<br>PH: 804-698-4028<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>FAX:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#0000cc">804-698-4178</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>