Dr Mercola

Flame Retardants and Fluoride—Two Neurotoxic Chemicals Again Linked to Reduced IQ

By Dr. Mercola

Did you know that items you come into contact with every day, such as your couch cushions, your carpeting, and your mattress, might be exposing you to highly toxic compounds?

In most cases, they will contain flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to serious health risks like infertility, birth defects, neurodevelopmental delays, reduced IQ scores and behavioral problems in children, hormone disruptions, and various forms of cancer.

In fact, flame retardant chemicals were recently identified as one of 17 "high priority" chemical groups that should be avoided....

An estimated 90 percent of Americans have flame-retardant chemicals in their bodies, and studies have linked them to human health risks, including liver, kidney, testicular, and breast cancers
Flame retardant chemicals, such as PBDEs, were recently identified as one of 17 “high priority” chemical groups that should be avoided to reduce your breast cancer risk
Recent research shows that children whose mothers were exposed to PBDEs during pregnancy have lower IQ, and are more prone to hyperactivity disorders
The disgusting irony is that there’s little evidence to suggest that these chemicals actually work when it comes to saving your life if there’s a fire
Tests show that not only do they not work, but they actually make injuries worse by creating more toxic smoke when “protected” items burn
Related research has identified a number of toxic chemicals that need to be restricted in order to protect children’s health, including PBDEs and fluoride