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Mary Beth Doyle
1961-2004

The Mary Beth Doyle PBDE Act

Groundbreaking State Law to Ban Harmful Flame Retardants

February/March Issue, 2006

On Jan. 4, 2005, Michigan became the fifth state in the country to prohibit the manufacture and sale of two kinds of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The Mary Beth Doyle PBDE Act was dedicated to the memory of one of its leading advocates, and was one of the last campaigns on which she had worked.

PBDEs have been used since the 1970s as flame retardants in plastic and foam consumer products, primarily electronics, furnishings, and insulation. Structurally, PBDEs are very similar to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), which were also once used as flame retardants and insulators. Both PCBs and PBBs are banned or severely restricted in most countries due to health and environmental effects.

Health concerns about PBDEs emerged in 1999 when Swedish scientists reported that levels of these chemicals in human breast milk had increased 60-fold between 1972 and 1997.

Subsequent studies found flame retardant levels in American women to be as much as ten times higher than in Sweden and doubling every five years. Adults and children are also exposed to the chemicals from meat and dairy foods, from house dust, and possibly from gases that vaporize from household products containing the flame retardants. These chemicals will persist in the bodies of children through adulthood.

Toxicological data on PBDEs is still limited but the compounds have been implicated in developmental, reproductive, neurotoxicity and thyroid effects in rats, mice, and fish, and may be carcinogenic.

“This is an important first stepto protect Michigan residents from chemicals found in mother’s milk and likely to be dangerous to people,” said Tracey Easthope, Environmental Health Director of the Ecology Center. “These chemicals can damage the thyroid and impair the central nervous system, and viable alternatives exist for most uses.”

PBDEs have become ubiquitous in the environment, and common house dust may be a leading route ofexposure, according to an ex-ploratory study by researchers atthe National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Environmental Protection Agency. Recent studies by others have confirmed that PBDEs have been accumulating in human blood, fat tissue, and breast milk at accelerated rates in the last few decades.

“Mary Beth would be pleased to know that the Governor started off the New Year by signing these bills into law.”
-- Tracey Easthope, Ecology Center Environmental Health Director

The NIST-EPA study surveyed 17 homes in the Washington, D.C., and Charleston, S.C., areas and found high concentrations of PBDEs in house dust, ranging from 700 to 30,100 nanograms per gram. Researchers analyzed both floor dust and clothes-dryer lint for 22 variants of commercial PBDEs and found PBDEs in every sample. Interestingly, there was little correlation between PBDE levels and the age of the dwelling or the number of foam cushions or appliances, but smaller dwellings tended towards higher concentrations of the PBDEs commonly used in high-impact polystyrene for TV and computer casings.

Although the new study is limited, say researchers, it highlights the need to study house dust as the primary source of PBDE exposure. In particular, the authors note that small children are more at risk than adults to dust exposures since they are more prone to putting dusty hands and toys in their mouths.

Public Acts 526 and 562 ban two kinds of PBDEs, penta-BDE and octa-BDE, but not a related “deca” form of the chemical. Environmentalists and public health advocates are urging legislators to move quickly against deca.

Mary Beth Doyle (left) at a health care conference in 2002

“Now that these bills are law, the Legislature should move swiftly to complete investigation of the ‘deca’ form and phase it out if studies confirm it also can cause neurological damage, or breaks down in the environment into the other banned forms,” said James Clift, Policy Director of the Michigan Environmental Council. “In order to protect public health, we need to switch quickly to alternative chemicals that do not pose health risks.”

The following products usually contain the flame retardant: computers, television sets, mobile phones, electronics and electrical items, automotive equipment, construction materials, polyurethane foam mattresses, cushions, carpets, upholstered furniture, and draperies, among others.

The Ecology Center has been campaigning for years to ban PBDEs and to test consumer goods to urge manufacturers to reformulate their products. Mary Beth Doyle worked on the PBDE campaign, and for over a decade on the Ecology Center’s Environmental Health Project with longtime colleague Tracey Easthope.

“Mary Beth would be pleased to know that the Governor started off the New Year by signing these bills into law,” said Easthope. “She would also be pleased to see the Legislature take up proposals to phase out ‘deca,’ and to further address toxic chemicals that threaten the health of Michigan residents.”

Assembled from press releases by Ecology Center staff.

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