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[suzyQ3]

Pretty much sums up the consensus regarding a decades-long bamboozle perpetuated by the chemical industry in this country in order to make a fortune on flame retardants. The article in today's Los Angeles Times (LINK), based on a lengthy expose in the Chicago Tribune (LINK), details one of the most egregious and successful schemes designed to scare and mislead the government and the public.

Think you're safer now with flame-retardant chemicals in your house? You're not.

"In fact, today scientists know that some flame retardants escape from household products and settle in dust. That's why toddlers, who play on the floor and put things in their mouths, generally have far higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies than their parents.

Blood levels of certain widely used flame retardants doubled in adults every two to five years between 1970 and 2004. More recent studies show levels haven't declined in the U.S. even though some of the chemicals have been pulled from the market. A typical American baby is born with the highest recorded concentrations of flame retardants among infants in the world.

People might be willing to accept the health risks if the flame retardants packed into sofas and easy chairs worked as promised. But they don't."

The title of the LAT article ("Chemical makers fan the flames of fear") just happened to catch my eye this morning while I was reading the paper. I usually just skim stories but read this from beginning to end and then looked up the Chicago Tribune expose on which it's based. Even this cynical person is dumbfounded by how such abject greed, at the expense of public health and safety, could exist and amazed at how far this industry went in order to pull it all off.

I strongly recommend reading both links, but if nothing else, at least read the LAT article, which is essentially a summary.