Douglas Fischer tested a typical family’s blood, hair and urine for the presence of everyday chemical contaminants such as flame retardants, plastics, metals, PCBs, even the chemical precursors of Teflon and Gore-Tex. He found everything he looked for, except arsenic, and has the first data anywhere of such compounds in the very young. The story also explores how chemicals are (or rather, are not) regulated and what this chemical “body burden” means for our health.
Of particular significance were the levels of flame retardants known as PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in the two children: Two to six times higher than the parents, and above levels though to cause neurodevelopment and thyroid problems in laboratory animals.