Flame retardants. Wish they'd go away!

bnsnyde · May 23, 2012

I was all ears while reading the very informative, shocking articles about flame retardants in the Chicago Tribune last month. How industry lied to get these chemicals on the market...and that they don't work as promised and are on a lot of baby stuff, of all things.

Anyone know if carseat companies will be receptive to the current outcry against them?

As far as I know there is one organic seat on the market? And Britax is phasing out certain flame retardants by end of 2012? As soon as they do I'll get my Frontier 85's, but I want to wait to be sure.

I see a niche market...or even if they'd make covers that are non-toxic for those who want them. We just got rid of all our kid's pajamas except the kind w/o flame retardants. I know everything is toxic these days, lol. But kids spend a lot of time in PJ's and in baby products (like, well, carseats). What's scary is the awful things these chemicals do. So it was a pretty easy step to change the pajamas up.

Here are the articles. Really worth a read! http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/flames/index.html

wendytthomas · May 23, 2012

Scarier would be imagining the pictures of burnt up cars WITHOUT the flame retardants. When my kids aren't riding around with explosive fuel under their bums, I'd be happy to remove the chemicals. Until then, leave them on. They help. They work.

Pajamas fine. Take them out. Don't sleep next to an open flame (duh) and yes, kids spend nearly half a day in pajamas. But most kids don't spend half a day in their carseat. Nor do they have a fuel plus sparks situation in their bedroom, I hope.

Wendy

bnsnyde · May 23, 2012

According to the investigation the chemicals entered the market through industry lying..doctors claiming to have treated babies with burns, when these babies did not exist.

There was no evidence the flame retardants did anything to any products to help against fire. And they lit couches on fire and saw no difference between those with or without.

So my issue isn't that they are there, if they worked. But that they do nothing anyway. Is there evidence they work?

I was just shocked, is all.

This is a good read below.

http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/flames/index.html

LISmama810 · May 23, 2012

My husband is a fire captain and has been in the fire service for more than 30 years. He is the most safety-conscious person I've ever met, especially when it comes to fire.

He thoroughly believes that fire retardants on car seats serve absolutely no purpose unless the child rides with a smoker.

Vehicle fires engulf cars so suddenly and violently that the fire retardants would really serve no purpose. Heat and smoke would kill the child before flames would. Plus, children don't walk around with flame-resistant hair or clothing.

As for the current situation, flame retardency is required by federal law. Even "organic" covers are treated with flame-retardant chemicals. Some chemicals are believed to be less harmful than others, and there are a few companies currently using those. I do believe that more and more manufacturers will go in that direction.

fyrfightermomma · May 23, 2012

I have a hard time with them too. In all the car fires I've been on, a fire resistant/retardant car seat wouldn't have done much.

The car explodes? You're going to die most likely instantly or very quickly. A child would die of smoke or gas inhalation well before the flame retardant had a chance to do anything. And they would be burned on their body from near by flames even If their seat was fine. So in a nutshell, I feel a child would be seriously injured or killed by other factors that have nothing to do with the seat chemicals.

But just my opinion. I'm no expert. I could see for smokers though

Adorkable · May 23, 2012

Yeah I'm so sick of flame retardants, it was such a bogus thing to start with a solution with no ability to solve the problem. If I am expecting the fame retardant foam or PJ's to protect my kids then I have already bad a series of bad choices to put them at that kind of risk, or in the case of cars, I am keeping them safe just as if I made sure they wore a helmet before jumping out of a plane with no parachute.

tam_shops · May 23, 2012

I'm with Wendy on this one. I'm fine w/ chemicals in the car seat, not their pjs.

Pjs go against their naked skin and are worn for long periods of time. They wear clothes when in a car seat...

As for the flame retardant chemicals not doing anything. I've done a Textiles Science Class and have seen w/ my own eyes (after adding the chemicals), that they do give a varying amount of time before everything goes up in a puff of smoke. If you remember that lady from Operah, every second when in a car fire counts and if on top of having to pull her out, her seat was on fire, she would have had *no* chance at all. And, she explicitly stated in her interview that she was happy to be alive, even like *that*.

Though, OP, I thought I read recently that at least one company was going to either stop all together, or create a line of covers that did not have the chemicals in them. I didn't note the details b/c it didn't impress me.

tam

LISmama810 · May 23, 2012

All materials in a car that touch passengers also have to be fire retardant. So that woman was sitting on a fire-retardant seat and still burned. Fire-retardant doesn't mean fireproof, and it doesn't create a magic bubble that keeps flames from lapping onto people or that keeps smoke and heat at bay.

Fire-retardant products will keep tiny, localized flames from spreading. They will do nothing against a raging, consistent fire.

People who die in car fires almost always die from heat and smoke, not from burning.

Flame retardants. Wish they'd go away!

bnsnyde

New member

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

bnsnyde

New member

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

fyrfightermomma

New member

Adorkable

New member

tam_shops

New member

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics