“The unexpected finding of very high levels of these persistent, toxic, synthetic chemicals in humans may constitute a public health threat...”

This was the first paper published in a scientific journal to document that:

1. All US human milk samples studied were contaminated with PBDEs, a toxic brominated flame retardant.
2. These levels were the highest in the world, 10-30 times higher than European levels. US total PBDE levels were usually between 4 and 400+ parts per billion (ppb), lipid, in these milk samples.
3. We measured up to 13 congeners in these milk samples.

A short time before, Swedish researchers noted that in Sweden, PBDEs were increasing exponentially over time in human breast milk while at the same time other persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and PCBs were declining.

Others later found similar findings to ours in US human milk samples. Obstacles include the difficulty in measuring BDE 209, the only one currently being manufactured, because of general contamination, including laboratory contamination, with this PBDE congener.

Further studies need to be conducted to determine how much enters the body from food, and how much from dust ingestion as well as air intake.

Food levels need to be better characterized. There have only been two market-basket studies of US food to date and the data is not consistent as to levels of contamination from similar food types.

Dr. Arnold Schecter's most-cited paper represented in the Research Front map with 79 cites to date: Schecter A, et al., "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in US mother's milk," Environ. Health Perspect. 111(14): 1723-9, November 2003. Source: Essential Science Indicators.

Human health studies need to be conducted to determine levels that may cause health damage.

Further toxicology studies need to be conducted to determine the scope of health problems which can be caused by PBDEs by themselves, by individual congeners, and as parts of mixtures with various other chemicals found in humans, including the similar PCBs.

The unexpected finding of very high levels of these persistent, toxic, synthetic chemicals in humans may constitute a public health threat, especially in the USA with its high levels, but also in other countries. How to reduce these levels in people remains to be determined. Because of the persistence, they will remain in the environment and in people for long periods of time, even after manufacture ends.

Two of the three commercial mixtures are no longer being produced in the USA or Europe. But the third, Deca, is still in production and this may constitute an environmental and human health hazard.

On the other hand, flame and fire retardants do save lives, so attempts to reduce fire and fire damage by some means is indicated. But the brominated flame retardants may not be the best way to do this.