Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[sarai]

Another study regarding flame retardants, PCB & PBDE...

Smothering the Flames

Polybrominated flame retardants, banned in Europe, have been linked to thyroid problems, learning disabilities in children and even breast cancer. And they're probably emanating from your computer.

By Traci Vogel

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.03.03/pbde-0327.html

.."Health and Welfare

When PCBs were banned, in 1976, it was because they were found to suppress the immune system, alter brain development, lower the IQ and cause behavioral problems like attention deficit and hyperactivity in children. They were also eventually found to be cancerous agents and to alter sexual development. PBDEs are similar to PCBs in that they have been shown to affect fetal development.

While scientists like to be cautious in interpreting their data, lab research has shown that a body burden of flame retardants at the levels found in Bay Area women has the potential to disrupt the process of brain development in fetuses and infant children (through breast milk). It is tempting to relate this discovery to the increasing levels of autism, ADD and hyperactivity in Silicon Valley, although the causes of these disorders remain elusive.

A Swedish study published in 2001 by Eriksson, Jakobsson and Fredriksson showed that neonatal male mice exposed to even low levels of brominated flame retardants exhibited permanent behavioral changes, including erosion of "habituation capability" (the ability to adjust to environments), learning and memory.

The theory, advanced by yet another Swedish study, is that PBDE institutes these changes by interfering with thyroid hormone function. The chemical compound of PBDE mimics the natural hormone, binding with transthyretin, a protein crucial to normal thyroid hormone function. The thyroid is central to brain development."..

==============================================================

Computer usage has also increased exponentially over the last several years...

Who knows??...