Flame retardants found in breast milk

An analysis of the breast milk of nine Puget Sound-area mothers has found high levels of toxic flame retardants.

An analysis of the breast milk of nine Puget Sound-area mothers has found high levels of toxic flame retardants.

The chemicals are used in products such as furniture, textiles and electronics.

The study results were released today by Northwest Environment Watch, which wants the Washington Legislature to restore funding for the study and phase out certain long-lasting toxic chemicals.

The flame retardants found in the study are called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. They have been linked to learning and behavioral problems in lab animals.

"I think any level of toxins in anybody's body is alarming," said Leisa Goldberg, one of the mothers whose breast milk was analyzed. "I'm still choosing to breast-feed because it's best for my baby."

The breast-milk samples were part of a larger study of 40 women from Washington, British Columbia, Oregon and Montana. Those results will be released later this year.

Of the nine Puget Sound-area samples, the median concentration of PBDEs was 50 parts per billion. That was 20 to 40 times higher than levels found in Swedish and Japanese women in previous studies.

Other U.S. studies also have found PBDEs in breast milk.

PBDEs have been banned in Sweden. California and the European Union are phasing out some forms of them.

The study's author said the real concern is not breast-feeding, but what may be happening in the months before birth. The presence of PBDEs in breast milk indicates the chemicals may be passed from mother to developing fetus in the last few months of pregnancy, a sensitive time for brain development.

"We're strongly in favor of breast-feeding," said Clark Williams-Derry, research director for Northwest Environment Watch, a Seattle group that researches environmental trends. "We're mostly concerned about the fetal impacts."

Last month, Gov. Gary Locke signed an executive order directing the state departments of ecology and health to write an action plan to reduce use of PBDEs.

Until last year, the Department of Ecology had a program that was working to reduce long-lasting toxins in the environment.

The Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins program had worked first on mercury, said Bill Backous, Department of Ecology program director for environmental assessment.

Dentists now are installing mercury separators in their offices to reduce mercury waste, Backous said. A law passed last year requires labeling of lamps containing mercury. The same law will phase out the sale of mercury-containing novelty items such as children's shoes with mercury switches that trigger flashing lights.

The Legislature eliminated funding for the program last year.

The House budget, released Monday, includes $436,000 to revive the program. The Senate budget does not.

"This is the responsibility of the Department of Ecology and the Department of Health," said Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient, who opposes the funding. "They have, in my opinion, ample financing and ample personnel to handle it."

Grant Nelson, governmental affairs director for the Association of Washington Business, said the group's members are looking at the performance and cost of alternatives to PBDEs.

The group also will monitor the criteria the health and ecology departments will use as they decide which chemicals to target, Nelson said.

Goldberg, one of the mothers in the study, is a 35-year-old Seattle resident and high school English teacher. She is on leave to care for her now 10-month-old daughter.

"I think they should be giving money to that program," she said. "This is evidence they should be."

Copyright, 2004, Spokesman-Review