Uc Science Today

Exposure to flame retardant chemicals or PBDEs during pregnancy can affect children’s neurodevelopment. That’s according to Tracey Woodruff, an environmental health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. “There’s been studies in multiple locations including the United States and in other countries around the world and what was found was that women with higher exposures to PBDEs during pregnancies, their children had lower IQ scores.” Woodruff says they measured IQ scores of 5 to 7-year-old exposed to these chemicals in infancy. “For about 10-fold increase in PBDEs there was a drop of IQ score of about 4 IQ points." But how did women get exposed to the chemicals? Turns out, through furnishings at home. “PBDE flame retardants are the class of chemicals that were used primarily in upholstered furniture, so polyurethane foam. They were put in as a requirement to flammability standards. They are also used sometimes in electronics."