Researchers ‘Shocked’ to Find Toxic Chemicals in Common Children’s Mattresses

Researchers have found evidence that suggests alarming levels of toxic phthalates, UV filters and flame retardants in the air of children’s bedrooms are likely coming from mattresses releasing the chemical compounds.

Over time, the semi-volatile chemicals can come off of objects and diffuse into the air, reported The Guardian. They are then able to be inhaled, absorbed or attached to dust and ingested.

“These results indicate children’s exposure to a range of chemicals of concern while sleeping, at higher concentrations than in their bedrooms,” the authors of the findings wrote. “Children experience elevated exposure to environmental contaminants, including semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), compared to adults due to, for example, their 10-times higher inhalation rate, 3-times larger skin surface area per body weight compared to adults, and their unique behaviors such as frequent hand-to-mouth contact and mouthing objects.”

The study, “Young Children’s Exposure to Chemicals of Concern in Their Sleeping Environment: An In-Home Study,” was conducted in partnership with California’s Green Science Policy Institute and published in the journal Ecotoxicology and Public Health.

Air measurements detected the highest volumes of the chemicals around the children’s beds. Accompanying research found the same chemicals at concerning levels in 16 common children’s mattress brands.

“We measured chemicals in the air of 25 children’s bedrooms between the ages of 6 months and 4 years and found worrisome levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and UV filters,” said Miriam Diamond, senior author of the study and a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at University of Toronto, as CNN reported.

Diamond said the researchers were “very surprised” by the levels of the chemicals, reported The Guardian. The weight of one mattress was three percent flame retardant.

“We were really shocked to find what was in the mattresses,” Diamond said. “The kids are getting quite a dose of this stuff.”

Manufacturers add phthalates — plasticizers that give materials flexibility — to plastic mattress covers, but, to the surprise of the authors, the chemicals were detected in non-plastic covers as well, Diamond said.

Flame retardants and phthalates are chemical compounds that have been associated with serious health issues such as reproductive damage, hormonal disruption, neurological harm, genital malformation and early puberty. Exposure to some flame retardants has been strongly linked with lower IQs in children.

In the United States, the use of some phthalates has been restricted in children’s products due to their high toxicity.

UV filters prevent dyes in textiles from deteriorating, but research has led to concerns about their potential health impacts.

Most mattress companies add flame retardants to their products, even though public health advocates and some firefighting organizations have said they are mostly ineffective and are actually more harmful than beneficial due to their toxicity and consumers’ and firefighters’ exposure to them.

There are no federal flame retardant limits for mattresses in Canada or the U.S., but several types of the chemicals that have been banned or restricted in children’s products were discovered in the mattresses.

“It’s concerning that these chemicals are still being found in children’s mattresses even though we know they have no proven fire-safety benefit and aren’t needed to comply with flammability standards,” said co-author of the study Arlene Blum, executive director of Green Science Policy Institute, in a statement, as CNN reported. “Parents should be able to lay their children down for sleep knowing they are safe and snug.”

The names of the mattress companies weren’t specified by the researchers, but the products were said to be common brands sold for less than $150 in Canada and the U.S. Diamond said where the mattresses were produced was not likely to make a difference, as they contained materials from Turkey, Mexico and China, as well as unknown countries, reported The Guardian.

“[T]he onus is on the mattress manufacturers” to stop using the toxic chemicals, Diamond said. “The mattress manufacturers need to be more vigilant.”