Flame Retardants in Your Home: Health Risks and How to Avoid Them

Flame retardants are chemicals added to furniture foam, electronics, carpet padding and many children's products to slow the spread of fire. They don't stay put. They migrate out of products and settle into household dust, which is how most people, and especially young children, take them in. An older group, called PBDEs, has been linked to lower IQ and attention problems in children, and the chemicals that replaced them are raising similar concerns.

Because the chemicals collect in dust, babies and toddlers who crawl and put their hands in their mouths get the highest doses. Young children can have 3 to 10 times the levels found in adults, according to a 2019 review of nearly 100 studies.

These brominated flame retardants were mostly pulled from the US market in 2004 but linger in older furniture and in the environment. In a 2013 University of Cincinnati study of more than 300 pregnant women, each tenfold increase in a mother's PBDE level was associated with about a 4-point drop in her child's IQ at age 5, along with more hyperactivity. A California study found a similar 4- to 5-point drop tied to children's own PBDE levels.

As PBDEs were phased out, manufacturers turned to organophosphate flame retardants. The 2019 review found these replacements are associated with lower IQ in children and with reproductive problems, are found in nearly everyone studied, and often show up in air, dust and water at 10 to 100 times the levels of the chemicals they replaced.

In late 2024, a study led by the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future reported flame retardants from recycled electronics in black plastic household items, including kitchen utensils. Weeks later, the journal published a correction: the authors had miscalculated the EPA's safe daily dose by a factor of 10, so the estimated exposure from a utensil was actually less than a tenth of that limit. The authors said the error didn't change their conclusion that the items are contaminated. Trading black plastic spatulas for wood or stainless steel is an easy swap, but the corrected numbers suggest they aren't the main source to worry about.

Flame retardants weren't one of the seven chemical groups the MAHA Commission's 2025 report singled out. But they fit its core argument: children are exposed to mixtures of chemicals from everyday products, and no regulator has accounted for their combined effects. The commission's strategy calls for a research framework on cumulative exposure across chemical classes, which would cover them.

Flame retardants are also a cautionary tale MAHA readers will recognize. A chemical gets phased out after years of concern, and its replacement turns out to raise many of the same questions.

Its old furniture standard pushed manufacturers to fill foam with flame retardants. The 2013 update, known as TB 117-2013, lets furniture pass without them, and since 2015 California has required upholstered furniture to carry a label stating whether it contains added flame retardant chemicals.

Massachusetts has banned certain flame retardants in children's products and furniture, and San Francisco requires new upholstered furniture sold there to have no added flame retardants.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued guidance on a class called organohalogen flame retardants, which are added to furniture foam and fabrics, but there's no federal ban.

Flame retardants collect in dust, so vacuum often and dust with a damp cloth. Wash hands before eating, especially kids' hands.

Look for nap mats and nursing pillows made with untreated cotton or naturally flame-resistant wool, and ask manufacturers whether they add flame retardants.

More ways to cut exposure:

Check the label. Since 2015, California has required upholstered furniture to carry a label saying whether it contains added flame retardant chemicals. Look for the TB 117-2013 tag with the box checked next to "contain NO added flame retardant chemicals."

A 2024 study reported flame retardants in black plastic kitchen utensils, but a correction showed the estimated exposure was less than a tenth of the EPA's safe daily dose. Swapping to wood or stainless steel is easy, but they aren't the main source to worry about.

Flame retardants settle into household dust, and babies and toddlers crawl and put their hands in their mouths. Young children can have 3 to 10 times the levels found in adults.

Healthy, Again. is health news, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about any health concern.