The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) went on a California shopping spree earlier this year to Walmart, Target, Kmart, Babies R Us and other major retailers, and returned with a host of baby products it claims are tainted with a cancer-causing flame retardant and lacking a required state warning label. 

The Oakland-based group sent notices to the companies alleging they had failed to provide warning labels on their products as required by Proposition 65, a state consumer protection law. It’s the first step before filing a lawsuit.

CEH sent infant sleepers, crib mattress pads, nap mats and other products to an independent lab for analysis and 16 were found to contain high levels of chlorinated Tris that exceeded state standards.

Tris was banned from children's pajamas in 1977, and was added to a list of chemicals known to cause cancer last year. It has also been linked to hormone disruption and developmental problems.

Flame retardants have come under fire for their use in furniture and a range of products. Manufacturers have increased their use of Tris and other flame retardants since a 1975 California law required that foam in furniture and many children's items be able to withstand a small open flame.

Chemical companies have pushed hard for flammability standards that result in the use of toxic chemicals by manufacturers looking for the cheapest way to make their products. Some of the chemicals have been linked to cancer, neurological deficits, developmental problems and impaired fertility that end up in the bodies of people and animals and stay in the environment for years. Studies show Californians have among the highest levels of flame retardants in their bodies worldwide.

Several attempts to change the state’s flammability standard have been thwarted by the chemical industry. In June, Governor Jerry Brown directed state regulators to come up with new standards to reduce the use of fire retardants. Changes are expected next summer.

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Chemicals Linked to Cancer Found in Baby Care Items, Group Says (by Sandy Kleffman, Contra Costa Times)

Carcinogen Found in Children’s Products (by Stephanie M. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle)

Retailers Accused of Not Warning about Flame Retardant (by Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune)

List: Baby Products that Allegedly Violate California's Toxic Materials Warning Law (by Sandy Kleffman, Contra Costa Times)

First-Ever Legal Action Targets Cancer-Causing Flame Retardant Found in Children’s Products (Center for Environmental Health)

State Heeds Warnings about Toxic Furniture Flame Retardants It Championed (by Ken Broder, AllGov California)