Chemicalsinthecrib - The Pulitzer Prizes sold recently by national and local retailers under the...

Tribune WaTchdog Playing With Fire

Chemicals in the crib Testing for Tribune finds flame retardants

linked to cancer in some popular baby mattresses, surprising and alarming scientists

Friday, December 28, 2012

By Patricia Callahan and Michael Hawthorne

Three popular brands of baby mattresses that were marketed in recent months to families and day care centers contained toxic flame retardants linked to increased cancer risk, according to laboratory tests conducted for the Chicago Tribune.

One member of that family of chemicals, known collectively as chlorinated tris, was removed from children’s pajamas over cancer concerns a generation ago.

Yet that same flame retardant turned up in significant amounts in 11 baby mat-tresses sold recently by national and local retailers under the Babies R Us, Foun-dations and Angeles brands. Two other mattresses made by Angeles contained a related form of tris.

While furniture-makers often add flame retardants to the polyurethane foam cushioning in sofas and upholstered chairs, the test results on infant mattresses surprised and alarmed some scientists who have studied the chemicals. Babies and even toddlers can spend 12 or more hours a day in a crib, and foam mattresses can meet federal fire-safety rules without the use of chemicals.

Linda Birnbaum, director of the federal government’s National Institute of En-vironmental Health Sciences, said regulators had assured her that chlorinated tris and other toxic flame retardants weren’t used in mattresses.

“These are bad chemicals, and we’ve known they’ve been bad for a long time,” said Birnbaum, a toxicologist. “If these chemicals are in your child’s mattress, they are going to be constantly exposed.”

In the late 1970s, University of California at Berkeley scientists found that TD-CPP, a form of tris, could cause mutations in DNA, and its manufacturer removed it voluntarily from the market for children’s pajamas. When researchers look for flame retardants in house dust, they still find TDCPP, which was never banned.

The Tribune tested 27 mattresses. All of the mat-tresses containing chlorinated tris had one thing in common: labels saying they were made in China or imported from China. None of the tested mattresses made domestically contained significant amounts of any form of chlorinated tris.

The response to the test results from manufactur-ers, importers and retailers varied.

Wayfair, the retailer that fulfilled the Tribune’s Wal-Mart order through the retail giant’s online market-place program, halted sales of the Angeles crib mattress, which fits cribs that are popular at child care centers.

One importer, however, vigorously defended its product.

Summer Infant Inc., the importer of the Babies R Us branded crib and bassinet mattresses that contained

Breakingnews at chicagotribune.comQuestions?Call 1-800-Tribune

Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for commentary


$1.00 city and suburbs, $1.25 elsewhere165th year No. 363 © Chicago Tribune

2013 Chevy Cruze LS with automatic transmission. MSRP plus destination freight charge $19,020.00. Excludes tax, title, documentary fees and optional equipment. $149.00per month for 24 months. $2,100.00 due at signing. $0 disposition fee. Ally lowmileage 12,000mile lease for well qualified lessees. Offer ends 1/2/13. See dealer for details.

Pages 14-15

FEATURES PHOTOS OF THE YEAR

Three popular brands of baby mat-tresses that were marketed in recentmonths to families and day care centerscontained toxic flame retardants linkedto increased cancer risk, according tolaboratory tests conducted for the Chi-cagoTribune.

One member of that family of chemi-cals, known collectively as chlorinatedtris, was removed from children’s paja-mas over cancer concerns a generationago.

Yet that same flame retardant turnedup in significant amounts in 11 babymattresses sold recently by national andlocal retailers under the Babies R Us,Foundations and Angeles brands. Two

other mattresses made by Angeles con-tained a related formof tris.

While furniture-makers often addflame retardants to the polyurethanefoam cushioning in sofas and uphol-stered chairs, the test results on infantmattresses surprised and alarmed somescientists who have studied the chemi-cals. Babies and even toddlers can spend12ormorehours aday in a crib, and foammattresses can meet federal fire-safetyruleswithout the use of chemicals.

Linda Birnbaum, director of the fed-eral government’s National Institute ofEnvironmental Health Sciences, saidregulators had assured her that chlori-nated tris and other toxic flame retar-dantsweren’t used inmattresses.

“These are bad chemicals, and we’ve

A Chicago lab extracted foam from baby mattresses and tested it for flame retardants identified as a cancer risk.

E. JASON WAMBSGANS/TRIBUNE PHOTO

Chemicals in the crib

Late 1970s

OUTCOME OF FLAMERETARDANT TESTSTests looked for chlorinated tris,one type of flame retardant

SOURCES: Stat AnalysisCorp., Tribune reporting TRIBUNE

Tris accounted for atleast 5% of theweight of the foam in8 of 27 mattresses

11 of 27 mattressescontained a type of trisidentified as a cancer risk

When this type of tris wasvoluntarily removed fromchildren’s pajamas in the U.S.

Testing for Tribune finds flame retardantslinked to cancer in some popular babymattresses, surprising and alarming scientists

Please turn to Page 8

By Patricia CallahanandMichael HawthorneTribune reporters

WASHINGTON — If the nation goesover the“fiscalcliff,” someAmericansmaywake up Tuesday with financial head-aches to rival aNewYear’s hangover.

More than 2 million long-term joblesswould receive their final unemploymentbenefit checkwithin days.Millions of tax-payers would be unableto file their returnsearly, resulting in de-layed refunds. Taxeswould rise immediatelyon workers across theboard. And while someof those increases mayeventually be reversed,the first paychecks of the year would besmaller until any legislative fixes kick in.

Even if the crisis is resolved quickly aspressure mounts on President BarackObama and lawmakers, it poses a short-term administrative nightmare for busi-nesses. And itwould be a financial blow tomillionsofpeople struggling tomakeendsmeet in the aftermath of the GreatRecession.

Bracingfor hardlandingoff ‘cliff’Higher tax rates to kick in,benefits to end Tuesday if nodeal reached in WashingtonBy Jim PuzzangheraandMarc LifsherTribune Newspapers

Please turn to 9

InsidePresident,congressionalleaders tomeetFriday. Page 19

Ina state asbrokeas Illinois, itwouldn’tbe a stretch to assume that the push foraggressive gambling expansion — in-cluding a lavish Chicago casino — is allabout themoney.

Butplans for fivecasinosandslots at sixhorse tracks would do more to maximizecasinoprofits and increase tax revenue forlocal governments than to shore up thestate’s shaky bottom line, according tonew fiscal projections provided to theTribune.

ThesweepingcasinopackagevetoedbyGov. Pat Quinn was not destined togenerate a major annual increase ingamblingrevenueforIllinois, accordingtoestimates by thenonpartisanCommissiononGovernmentForecasting andAccount-ability.

The projections showed the state’s

The house winsif gaming grows,an analysis findsProjections show casinos, notstate, would benefit the mostBy Bill RuthhartTribune reporter


Heavyweights fromNotreDame andAlabamawill gohead-to-head inBCS title game.Chicago Sports

College football bowl preview

Knownas “Stormin’Norman,” he ledU.S.troops and allied forcesin a six-weekwar thatrouted SaddamHus-sein’s army fromKuwaitin1991.Obituary inBusiness, Page 7 GETTY-AFP PHOTO

Schwarzkopf,general in 1stGulf War, dies

ChicagoWeatherCenter: Completeforecast on back page of A+E sectionTom Skilling’s forecast High34 Low27

TRIBUNE WATCHDOGPLAYING WITH FIRE

Chicagoland, Page 11

Homicidespushing 500in Chicago

Michael Phillips, Movies

Readers strikeback at critical‘Les Miz’ review

chlorinated tris, noted that the mattresses “are in a sealed impermeable plastic cov-ering,” which “ensures no exposure of the inner mattress foam to the child.”

Responding to questions from the Tribune, the company wrote, “Simply put, the statements made are misleading and reckless in that they imply a health hazard that doesn’t actually exist.”

But Birnbaum and Heather Stapleton, a Duke University chemist who studies flame retardants, questioned whether any foam product can be sealed completely. They said chemicals escape when they vaporize and seep through seams or holes and get into air and dust.

And Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commis-sion, stressed that she sees no need for flame retardants in children’s mattresses, which can be protected with inherently flame-resistant wraps or barriers.

“I strongly encourage all mattress manufacturers to comply with our perfor-mance standard through the use of barrier technologies and to avoid using any potentially harmful chemicals to which children can be exposed,” she said in a statement. “The law strictly prohibits children’s products from having hazardous chemicals that children could be exposed to and could foreseeably cause substantial illness or injury.”

The agency is awaiting approval from its federal safety commissioners for a broad study of children’s exposure to flame retardants in consumer products. Re-sponding to the Tribune, agency offi-cials last week began purchasing the same models tested by the Tribune for their own studies to determine how much chlorinated tris could es-cape and be absorbed through a ba-by’s skin, ingested or inhaled.

The findings from the testing commissioned by the Tribune echo those of a California environmental group. The Center for Environmen-tal Health, in Oakland, hired a lab to conduct tests but did not release the precise results in announcing its findings ear-lier this month. Instead, that group is using a California labeling law and the threat of a lawsuit to prod companies to reformulate their products without tris.

Neither the Tribune nor the Center for Environmental Health knew that the other was testing baby mattresses.

Because they are smaller than adults and their bodies are still developing, chil-dren face greater risks from exposure to toxic chemicals, said Dr. Jerome Paulson, a George Washington University pediatrician.

Last year, Paulson wrote an American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement call-ing for a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s chemical safety law to protect children.

“We know these flame retardants are hazardous,” he said in an interview. “The fact that you found these chemicals in crib mattresses is evidence of an ongoing problem that we as a nation have been unwilling to confront.”

In May, the Tribune published its “Playing With Fire” series, which revealed how flame retardants are commonly found in American homes as a result of a de-cades-long campaign of deception by the tobacco and chemical industries. Among other things, the leading manufacturers of flame retardants created a phony con-sumer group that stoked the public’s fear of fire to protect and expand the use of their chemicals in furniture, electronics and other products.

Breakingnews at chicagotribune.comQuestions?Call 1-800-Tribune

Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for commentary


$1.00 city and suburbs, $1.25 elsewhere165th year No. 363 © Chicago Tribune

2013 Chevy Cruze LS with automatic transmission. MSRP plus destination freight charge $19,020.00. Excludes tax, title, documentary fees and optional equipment. $149.00per month for 24 months. $2,100.00 due at signing. $0 disposition fee. Ally lowmileage 12,000mile lease for well qualified lessees. Offer ends 1/2/13. See dealer for details.

Pages 14-15

FEATURES PHOTOS OF THE YEAR

Three popular brands of baby mat-tresses that were marketed in recentmonths to families and day care centerscontained toxic flame retardants linkedto increased cancer risk, according tolaboratory tests conducted for the Chi-cagoTribune.

One member of that family of chemi-cals, known collectively as chlorinatedtris, was removed from children’s paja-mas over cancer concerns a generationago.

Yet that same flame retardant turnedup in significant amounts in 11 babymattresses sold recently by national andlocal retailers under the Babies R Us,Foundations and Angeles brands. Two

other mattresses made by Angeles con-tained a related formof tris.

While furniture-makers often addflame retardants to the polyurethanefoam cushioning in sofas and uphol-stered chairs, the test results on infantmattresses surprised and alarmed somescientists who have studied the chemi-cals. Babies and even toddlers can spend12ormorehours aday in a crib, and foammattresses can meet federal fire-safetyruleswithout the use of chemicals.

Linda Birnbaum, director of the fed-eral government’s National Institute ofEnvironmental Health Sciences, saidregulators had assured her that chlori-nated tris and other toxic flame retar-dantsweren’t used inmattresses.

“These are bad chemicals, and we’ve



Chemicals in the crib

Late 1970s

OUTCOME OF FLAMERETARDANT TESTSTests looked for chlorinated tris,one type of flame retardant

SOURCES: Stat AnalysisCorp., Tribune reporting TRIBUNE

Tris accounted for atleast 5% of theweight of the foam in8 of 27 mattresses

11 of 27 mattressescontained a type of trisidentified as a cancer risk

When this type of tris wasvoluntarily removed fromchildren’s pajamas in the U.S.

Testing for Tribune finds flame retardantslinked to cancer in some popular babymattresses, surprising and alarming scientists


By Patricia CallahanandMichael HawthorneTribune reporters

WASHINGTON — If the nation goesover the“fiscalcliff,” someAmericansmaywake up Tuesday with financial head-aches to rival aNewYear’s hangover.

More than 2 million long-term joblesswould receive their final unemploymentbenefit checkwithin days.Millions of tax-payers would be unableto file their returnsearly, resulting in de-layed refunds. Taxeswould rise immediatelyon workers across theboard. And while someof those increases mayeventually be reversed,the first paychecks of the year would besmaller until any legislative fixes kick in.

Even if the crisis is resolved quickly aspressure mounts on President BarackObama and lawmakers, it poses a short-term administrative nightmare for busi-nesses. And itwould be a financial blow tomillionsofpeople struggling tomakeendsmeet in the aftermath of the GreatRecession.

Bracingfor hardlandingoff ‘cliff’Higher tax rates to kick in,benefits to end Tuesday if nodeal reached in WashingtonBy Jim PuzzangheraandMarc LifsherTribune Newspapers


InsidePresident,congressionalleaders tomeetFriday. Page 19

Ina state asbrokeas Illinois, itwouldn’tbe a stretch to assume that the push foraggressive gambling expansion — in-cluding a lavish Chicago casino — is allabout themoney.

Butplans for fivecasinosandslots at sixhorse tracks would do more to maximizecasinoprofits and increase tax revenue forlocal governments than to shore up thestate’s shaky bottom line, according tonew fiscal projections provided to theTribune.

ThesweepingcasinopackagevetoedbyGov. Pat Quinn was not destined togenerate a major annual increase ingamblingrevenueforIllinois, accordingtoestimates by thenonpartisanCommissiononGovernmentForecasting andAccount-ability.

The projections showed the state’s

The house winsif gaming grows,an analysis findsProjections show casinos, notstate, would benefit the mostBy Bill RuthhartTribune reporter


Heavyweights fromNotreDame andAlabamawill gohead-to-head inBCS title game.Chicago Sports

College football bowl preview

Knownas “Stormin’Norman,” he ledU.S.troops and allied forcesin a six-weekwar thatrouted SaddamHus-sein’s army fromKuwaitin1991.Obituary inBusiness, Page 7 GETTY-AFP PHOTO

Schwarzkopf,general in 1stGulf War, dies

ChicagoWeatherCenter: Completeforecast on back page of A+E sectionTom Skilling’s forecast High34 Low27


Chicagoland, Page 11

Homicidespushing 500in Chicago

Michael Phillips, Movies

Readers strikeback at critical‘Les Miz’ review



Readers repeatedly asked Tribune reporters about mattresses, especially those for babies. Furniture-makers use flame-retardant foam to meet a California flam-mability rule that has become a de facto national standard. Mattresses are a differ-ent story. Instead of the California rule, they must pass federal fire-safety tests that are far more stringent.

A safety commission spokesman in September said his agency had never tested baby mattresses for chlorinated tris or other flame retardants that the Tribune spot-lighted in “Playing With Fire.” Federal flammability rules for mattresses were cre-ated “in a way so that manufacturers did not have to use flame retardant chemicals,” spokesman Scott Wolfson said.

A 2011 study led by Duke’s Stapleton found forms of chlorinated tris in six por-table crib mattresses purchased between 2000 and 2008. That study did not name the brands, and most were made before the current fire-safety rules favoring barri-ers took effect.

To see what was in the mattresses sold today, the Tribune hired Stat Analysis Corp., a private Chicago analytical lab, to test popular brands used by consumers and child care centers.

The Tribune purchased the baby mattresses at major retailers, including Ama-zon.com, Babies R Us and Wal-Mart’s online site. Stat Analysis performed the tests from October to December.

There are several kinds of flame retardants used in foam. Chemical manufactur-ers have said chlorinated tris is safe, but the Tribune chose to test for tris because

9D Chicago Tribune | Section 1 | Friday, December 28, 2012

Tribune reporters aboutmattresses, especially thosefor babies. Furniture-mak-ers use flame-retardantfoam to meet a Californiaflammability rule that hasbecome a de facto nationalstandard. Mattresses are adifferent story. Instead ofthe California rule, theymustpass federal fire-safetytests that are farmore strin-gent.

A safety commissionspokesman in Septembersaid his agency had nevertested baby mattresses forchlorinated tris or otherflame retardants that theTribune spotlighted in“PlayingWithFire.”Federalflammability rules for mat-tresses were created “in away so that manufacturersdid not have to use flameretardant chemicals,”spokesman Scott Wolfsonsaid.

A 2011 study led byDuke’s Stapleton foundforms of chlorinated tris insix portable crib mattressespurchased between 2000and 2008. That study didnot name the brands, andmost were made before thecurrent fire-safety rules fa-voring barriers took effect.

To see what was in themattresses sold today, theTribune hired Stat AnalysisCorp., a private Chicagoanalytical lab, to test popu-lar brands used by consum-ers and child care centers.

The Tribune purchasedthe baby mattresses at ma-jor retailers, includingAma-zon.com, Babies R Us andWal-Mart’s online site. StatAnalysis performed thetests from October to De-cember.

There are several kindsofflame retardants used infoam. Chemical manufac-turers have said chlorinatedtris is safe, but the Tribunechose to test for tris becausethe science showing poten-tial harm is well docu-mented.

The World Health Or-ganization, the NationalCancer Institute, the Na-tionalResearchCouncil andthe safety commission haveidentified TDCPP as a can-cer risk. Safety commissionresearchers in 2006 cau-tioned that adding TDCPPto upholstered furniturecould expose children intheir first twoyears of life toa cancer risk seven timeshigher than what most sci-entists and regulators con-sider acceptable.

Decades ago, the Na-tional Toxicology Programfound the second form ofchlorinated tris, known asTCEP, to be a cancer risk.The state of Washingtonrequires manufacturers toreport to state regulatorsthe use of TCEP in chil-dren’s products, and a NewYork state ban on TCEP inproducts for youngchildrenwill take effect inDecember2013.

Less is known about thethird form of chlorinatedtris, known as TCPP. A2000 report by theNationalResearch Council con-cluded that TCPP had notbeen adequately studied forpossible health effects.Eight years later, a riskassessment by the Europe-an Union concluded thatthe flame retardant is apossiblecancerriskbecauseit is chemically similar toTCEP andTDCPP.

When tests showed amattress contained anyform of chlorinated tris atlevels that Stat Analysisconsidered above a traceamount, the Tribunebought sister products fromthe same brand and hadthem tested to see if therewas any pattern.

An Angeles portable cribmattress manufactured inApril 2012 and bought fromWal-Martonlineearlier thismonth had the highestlevels of TDCPP of any ofthe mattresses tested. Twoother Angeles mattresses,both manufactured in June2011, contained someTCPPbut did not contain anyTDCPP.

David Curry, a generalmanager atAngeles, saidhiscompany was conductingits own investigation anddeclined to comment fur-ther.

Wal-Mart noted thatWayfair stopped selling theAngeles mattress when in-formed of the Tribune’sresults.

“Some of our largest sup-pliers of babyproducts havealready begun eliminatingthe use of flame retardantsthat appear on lists ofchemicals of high concern,”Wal-Mart spokeswomanDianna Gee added in anemail. “We encourage oursuppliers, who have notdone so, to evaluate the useof chemicals of concern inadvance of regulation.”

Foundations cribs, whichare soldwith the company’smattresses, are “used inmore hotels and child carefacilities worldwide thanany other brand of cribs,”according to itswebsite. Fortesting, the Tribune boughtsix different Foundationsmattresses, and all con-tainedTDCPP andTCPP.

Two of them also con-tained TCEP. However,foam samples taken from adifferent location in one ofthose mattresses did notcontain TCEP, the labfound. It is possible thatchemical levels will varywithin foam if they’re notmixed properly or if flameretardant residue from onebatch of foam contaminatesthe next, according to ex-perts.

The Foundations mat-tresses that were testedcame from Amazon.com.Amazon continues to sellthose mattresses, but itslistings now include a “click

here” link for Californiaresidents that takes con-sumers to a page that says,“WARNING: This productcontains chemicals knownto the State of California tocause cancer and birth de-fects or other reproductiveharm.”

A spokesman for the re-tailer said in an email: “Werequire our vendors andthirdparty sellers tocomplywith all applicable laws andregulations.”

The Tribune sent lab testreports and product detailsto officials at Foundations,but they did not respond tophone calls or emails seek-ing comment.

The company did, how-ever, briefly post a state-menton itswebsite saying ithad received assurancesfrom its suppliers that itsmattresses were free ofTDCPP.

In that statement, whichFoundations later removed,the company said the Cen-ter for EnvironmentalHealth alleged that someFoundations products con-tainedTDCPPandrequiredwarnings under Californialaw.

“Foundations has beguntesting to ascertainwhetherTDCPP, contrary to theassurances it received, wasor is present in any of itsproducts,” Foundationswrote on its website. “Sec-

ond, the company will con-firmandensure thatnonewproduction containsTDCPP.”

In the meantime, thecompany said it was addingwarning labels to productsshipped to California andasked retailers selling tocustomers in that state toadd the labels “out of anabundance of caution.”

On Oct. 28, Californiastarted requiring warningson products sold in thatstate if the products couldexpose people to harmfulamounts of TDCPP.

California’s Center forEnvironmental Healthfound TDCPP in Founda-tions and Angeles crib mat-tresses and in a Babies RUsbassinetpad.Thecenterdidnot test for TCEP, whichalso can trigger warningrequirements under Cali-fornia law, orTCPP.

All four Babies R Usbranded mattresses pur-chased by the Tribune —two products made forportable cribs and two forbassinets — containedTDCPP and TCPP, StatAnalysis found. Babies RUscontinued to sell thosekinds of mattresses: One ofthe chain’s stores in Nileshad them on its shelvesThursday.

Jennifer Albano, aspokeswomanforToysRUs

Inc.,which owns theBabiesRUschain, said all productsin its stores meet or exceedapplicable laws, includingflammability standards.

“As always, we will con-tinue tomonitor anyemerg-ing product safety concernsand to work with our sup-pliers to identify new waysto raise the bar on the safetyof the products sold in ourstores,” Albano wrote in anemail.

Summer Infant, the im-porter of those Babies R Usbranded mattresses, in awritten statement faultedthe Tribune for analyzingthe chemical content of thefoam inside a productrather than “risk assess-ment models” that look atwhether a consumer is ex-posed.

The company wrote thatits products complywith allsafety commission regula-tions and that “there is nohazardous exposure to thecited flame retardants.”

“Summer Infant’s toppriority in manufacturingjuvenile products is thehealth and safety of everychild,” the companywrote.

Stapleton, the Duke Uni-versity chemist who ledthe largest study of flameretardants inbabyproducts,offered a different take onthe permeability of mat-tresses. She said chemicalslike TDCPP can escapefrom products such as mat-tresses any time air movesthrough them. A trulysealed mattress would poplike a balloon when com-pressed, she said.

“Can youpush your hand

down on it, and does airescape?” Stapleton asked.“There’s no such thing ashermetically sealed if youhave air coming out.”

Summer Infant mat-tresses had seams with vis-ible stitches and had endscovered with overlappedfabric. A reporter was ableto stick her finger betweenthe overlapped plastic andtouch foam. Though it’sunlikely a baby would everreach into thatspace,aircanescape through it.

The Foundations mat-tresses also had visiblestitching, and one had simi-lar overlapped fabric. Incontrast, the Angeles mat-tresses had no obviousstitching or gaps. But all ofthe mattresses could becompressedwith little pres-sure before springing backto their original shape.

Measuringachild’s expo-sure to chemicals in a mat-tress is complicated. Thesafety commission’s pro-posed testing would apply100,000 cycles of pressureover 24 hours to representyears of use,while samplingthe air above.

To simulate bed-wettingand sweating, agency scien-tists plan to applywet fabricto see what chemicals wickout of the mattress, agencyspokesmanWolfson said.

“Once a thorough as-sessment of risk is com-pleted, scientists can esti-mate the likelihood of achild experiencing any ad-verse effects,” the agencysaid in awritten statement.

[email protected]@tribune.com

Angeles Compact Replacement Mattress



Bassinet Pad

Oval Bassinet Pad

Portable Crib Pad

Portable Crib Pad

Professional Series 2-inch Compact Crib Mattress


DuraLoft 3-inch Compact Crib Mattress


Professional Series 3-inch Full Size Crib Mattress


Angeles

Angeles

Angeles

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

45,000

None

None

18,000

22,000

25,000

21,000

44,000

42,000

41,000

42,000

37,000

21,000

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

6,700

None

None

None

None

2,000

Brand Model TDCPP

April 2012

June 2011

June 2011

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

May 2012

February 2012

June 2012

May 2012

January 2012

February 2012

September 2011

Manufacture date Percent tris by weightTCEP

5,400

5,700

5,100

50,000

43,000

37,000

31,000

6,200

8,100

8,600

6,300

5,900

5,000

TCPP

Testing cribmattressesMattresses sold in theU.S.must pass strict flammability tests, but regulators say the standards can bemetwithout adding flame retardantchemicals. TheTribune paid a laboratory to test a number of popular cribmattresses for chlorinated tris, a class of flame retardants linked tohealth risks. If amattress tested positive, theTribune bought related products from the same brand for further testing to see if therewas a pattern.A negative result does not necessarilymean themattress is free of other flame retardants.

SOURCES: Stat Analysis Corp., Tribune reporting TRIBUNE

3 TYPES OF TRIS

MATTRESSES WITH A FORM OF TRIS parts per million

CRIB MATTRESSES WITH NOTRIS OR TRACE AMOUNTSBy brand

■ Colgate Classica II Extra FirmCrib Mattress

■ Baby Cache Sweet DreamsComfort 2 Stage Infant-ToddlerMattress

■ Serta Master Sleeper by La JobiDual Sided Mattress

■ Sealy Signature SoybeanEverEdge Foam-Core Crib andToddler Bed Mattress

■ Simmons Kids BeautySleepSuperior Rest 2 ‘n’ 1 InnerspringMattress

■ Simmons Kids SlumberTimeNaturally 2 ‘n’ 1 ConvertibleMattress

■ Little Dreamer by MoonlightSlumber

■ Dream on Me Orthopedic FirmFoam Crib Mattress

■ Colgate 3-inch Portable CribMattress

■ Cub Club Crib Mattress &Accessory Pad

■ Simmons Kids BeautySleepPortable and Day Care Crib FoamMattress

■ L.A. Baby 3-inch Compact CribMattress

■ Naturepedic Organic CottonElement Lightweight Infant &Toddler Mattress

■ Kolcraft Good Night, Baby Crib& Toddler Bed Mattress

TDCPP: Tris(1, 3-Dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate

Labeled a cancer risk by the World HealthOrganization, the Consumer Product SafetyCommission and other groups. Removed fromchildren’s pajamas in the 1970s.

TCEP: Tris(2-Chloroethyl) phosphate

Identified as a cancer risk decades ago bythe National Toxicology Program. Thestates of Washington and New York havemoved to regulate it in children’s products.

TCPP: Tris(2-Chloroisopropyl) phosphate

Not adequately studied for health effects,according to a 2000 report from theNational Research Council. Chemicallysimilar to TCEP and TDCPP.

5.2

5.0

0.5 %

6.2

2.8

4.8

5.0

5.0

5.7

4.3

6.8

6.5

0.6

MATTRESSES TESTED27

FOUND WITH TRIS13

*Two mattresses contained only TCPP, a form of tris whose potential effects on health are not known

At a Chicago lab, a foam sample is cut from a baby mattress. The tested mattresses were bought from major retailers.E. JASON WAMBSGANS/TRIBUNE PHOTO

Read the PlayingWith Fire series and follow-upcoverage, plus view related documents and videos.

chicagotribune.com/flames

the science showing potential harm is well documented. The World Health Organization, the National Cancer Institute, the National Re-

search Council and the safety commission have identified TDCPP as a cancer risk. Safety commission researchers in 2006 cautioned that adding TDCPP to uphol-stered furniture could expose children in their first two years of life to a cancer risk seven times higher than what most scientists and regulators consider acceptable.

Decades ago, the National Toxicology Program found the second form of chlo-rinated tris, known as TCEP, to be a cancer risk. The state of Washington requires manufacturers to report to state regulators the use of TCEP in children’s products, and a New York state ban on TCEP in products for young children will take effect in December 2013.

Less is known about the third form of chlorinated tris, known as TCPP. A 2000 report by the National Research Council concluded that TCPP had not been adequately studied for pos-sible health effects. Eight years later, a risk assessment by the European Union concluded that the flame retar-dant is a possible cancer risk because it is chemically similar to TCEP and TDCPP.

When tests showed a mattress contained any form of chlorinated tris at levels that Stat Analysis consid-ered above a trace amount, the Tribune bought sister products from the same brand and had them tested to see if there was any pattern.

An Angeles portable crib mattress manufactured in April 2012 and bought from Wal-Mart online earlier this month had the highest levels of TDCPP of any of the mattresses tested. Two other Angeles mattress-es, both manufactured in June 2011, contained some TCPP but did not contain any TDCPP.

David Curry, a general manager at Angeles, said his company was conducting its own investigation and de-clined to comment further.

Wal-Mart noted that Wayfair stopped selling the An-geles mattress when informed of the Tribune’s results.

“Some of our largest suppliers of baby products have already begun eliminating the use of flame retardants that appear on lists of chemicals of high concern,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Dianna Gee added in an email. “We encourage our suppliers, who have not done so, to evaluate the use of chemicals of concern in advance of regulation.”

Foundations cribs, which are sold with the company’s mattresses, are “used in more hotels and child care facilities worldwide than any other brand of cribs,” ac-cording to its website. For testing, the Tribune bought six different Foundations mattresses, and all contained TDCPP and TCPP.

Two of them also contained TCEP. However, foam samples taken from a differ-ent location in one of those mattresses did not contain TCEP, the lab found. It is possible that chemical levels will vary within foam if they’re not mixed properly or if flame retardant residue from one batch of foam contaminates the next, according to experts.

The Foundations mattresses that were tested came from Amazon.com. Amazon continues to sell those mattresses, but its listings now include a “click here” link









































Measuringachild’s expo-sure to chemicals in a mat-tress is complicated. Thesafety commission’s pro-posed testing would apply100,000 cycles of pressureover 24 hours to representyears of use,while samplingthe air above.







Bassinet Pad

Oval Bassinet Pad

Portable Crib Pad

Portable Crib Pad







Angeles

Angeles

Angeles

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

45,000

None

None

18,000

22,000

25,000

21,000

44,000

42,000

41,000

42,000

37,000

21,000

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

6,700

None

None

None

None

2,000

Brand Model TDCPP

April 2012

June 2011

June 2011

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

May 2012

February 2012

June 2012

May 2012

January 2012

February 2012

September 2011


5,400

5,700

5,100

50,000

43,000

37,000

31,000

6,200

8,100

8,600

6,300

5,900

5,000

TCPP



3 TYPES OF TRIS























5.2

5.0

0.5 %

6.2

2.8

4.8

5.0

5.0

5.7

4.3

6.8

6.5

0.6

MATTRESSES TESTED27

FOUND WITH TRIS13





for California residents that takes consumers to a page that says, “WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

A spokesman for the retailer said in an email: “We require our vendors and third party sellers to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.”

The Tribune sent lab test reports and product details to officials at Foundations, but they did not respond to phone calls or emails seeking comment.

The company did, however, briefly post a statement on its website saying it had received assurances from its suppliers that its mattresses were free of TDCPP.

In that statement, which Founda-tions later removed, the company said the Center for Environmental Health alleged that some Foundations prod-ucts contained TDCPP and required warnings under California law.

“Foundations has begun testing to ascertain whether TDCPP, contrary to the assurances it received, was or is present in any of its products,” Foundations wrote on its website. “Second, the company will confirm and ensure that no new production contains TDCPP.”

In the meantime, the company said it was adding warning labels to products shipped to California and asked retailers selling to customers in that state to add the labels “out of an abundance of caution.”

On Oct. 28, California started re-quiring warnings on products sold in that state if the products could ex-pose people to harmful amounts of TDCPP.

California’s Center for Environ-mental Health found TDCPP in Foundations and Angeles crib mat-tresses and in a Babies R Us bassinet pad. The center did not test for TCEP, which also can trigger warning requirements under California law, or TCPP.

All four Babies R Us branded mattresses purchased by the Tribune — two prod-ucts made for portable cribs and two for bassinets — contained TDCPP and TCPP, Stat Analysis found. Babies R Us continued to sell those kinds of mattresses: One of the chain’s stores in Niles had them on its shelves Thursday.

Jennifer Albano, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us Inc., which owns the Babies R Us chain, said all products in its stores meet or exceed applicable laws, including flam-mability standards.

“As always, we will continue to monitor any emerging product safety concerns and to work with our suppliers to identify new ways to raise the bar on the safety of the products sold in our stores,” Albano wrote in an email.

Summer Infant, the importer of those Babies R Us branded mattresses, in a writ-ten statement faulted the Tribune for analyzing the chemical content of the foam









































Measuringachild’sexpo-sure to chemicals in a mat-tress is complicated. Thesafety commission’s pro-posed testing would apply100,000 cycles of pressureover 24 hours to representyears of use,while samplingthe air above.







Bassinet Pad

Oval Bassinet Pad

Portable Crib Pad

Portable Crib Pad







Angeles

Angeles

Angeles

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Babies R Us

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

Foundations

45,000

None

None

18,000

22,000

25,000

21,000

44,000

42,000

41,000

42,000

37,000

21,000

None

None

None

None

None

None

None

6,700

None

None

None

None

2,000

Brand Model TDCPP

April 2012

June 2011

June 2011

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

May 2012

February 2012

June 2012

May 2012

January 2012

February 2012

September 2011


5,400

5,700

5,100

50,000

43,000

37,000

31,000

6,200

8,100

8,600

6,300

5,900

5,000

TCPP



3 TYPES OF TRIS























5.2

5.0

0.5 %

6.2

2.8

4.8

5.0

5.0

5.7

4.3

6.8

6.5

0.6

MATTRESSES TESTED27

FOUND WITH TRIS13






At a Chicago lab, a foam sample is cut from a baby mattress. The tested mattresses were bought from major retailers.


8 Chicago Tribune | Section 1 | Friday, December 28, 2012

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known they’ve been bad fora long time,” saidBirnbaum,a toxicologist. “If thesechemicalsare inyourchild’smattress, they are going tobe constantly exposed.”

In the late 1970s, Univer-sityofCaliforniaatBerkeleyscientists found thatTDCPP, a formof tris, couldcause mutations in DNA,and its manufacturer re-moved it voluntarily fromthe market for children’spajamas. When researcherslook for flame retardants inhouse dust, they still findTDCPP, which was neverbanned.

The Tribune tested 27mattresses. All of themattresses containing chlo-rinated tris had one thing incommon: labels saying theywere made in China orimported fromChina.Noneof the tested mattressesmade domestically con-tained significant amountsof any form of chlorinatedtris.

The response to the testresults frommanufacturers,importers and retailers var-ied.

Wayfair, the retailer thatfulfilled the Tribune’s Wal-Mart order through theretail giant’s online market-place program, halted salesof theAngelescribmattress,which fits cribs that arepopular at child care cen-ters.

One importer, however,vigorously defended itsproduct.

Summer Infant Inc., theimporter of the Babies RUsbranded crib and bassinetmattresses that containedchlorinated tris, noted thatthe mattresses “are in asealed impermeable plastic

covering,” which “ensuresno exposure of the innermattress foam to the child.”

Responding to questionsfrom the Tribune, the com-pany wrote, “Simply put,the statements made aremisleading and reckless inthat they imply a healthhazard that doesn’t actuallyexist.”

But Birnbaum andHeather Stapleton, a DukeUniversity chemist whostudies flame retardants,questioned whether anyfoam product can be sealedcompletely. They saidchemicals escape whenthey vaporize and seepthrough seams or holes andget into air and dust.

And Inez Tenenbaum,chairman of the U.S. Con-sumer Product Safety Com-mission, stressed that shesees no need for flameretardants in children’smattresses, which can beprotected with inherentlyflame-resistant wraps orbarriers.

“I strongly encourage allmattress manufacturers tocomply with our perform-ance standard through the

use of barrier technologiesand to avoid using anypotentially harmful chemi-cals to which children canbe exposed,” she said in astatement. “The law strictlyprohibits children’s prod-ucts fromhaving hazardouschemicals that childrencould be exposed to andcould foreseeably causesubstantial illnessor injury.”

The agency is awaitingapproval from its federalsafety commissioners for abroad study of children’sexposure to flame retar-dants in consumer prod-ucts. Responding to theTribune, agency officialslast week began purchasingthe same models tested bythe Tribune for their ownstudies to determine howmuch chlorinated tris couldescape and be absorbedthrough a baby’s skin, in-gested or inhaled.

The findings from thetesting commissioned bythe Tribune echo those of aCalifornia environmentalgroup. TheCenter for Envi-ronmental Health, in Oak-land, hired a lab to conducttests but did not release the

precise results in announc-ing its findings earlier thismonth. Instead, that groupisusingaCalifornia labelinglaw and the threat of alawsuit to prod companiesto reformulate their prod-uctswithout tris.

Neither the Tribune northe Center for Environ-mental Health knew thatthe other was testing babymattresses.

Because they are smallerthan adults and their bod-ies are still developing, chil-dren face greater risks fromexposure to toxic chemi-cals, said Dr. Jerome Paul-son, a George WashingtonUniversity pediatrician.

Last year, Paulson wrotean American Academy ofPediatrics policy statementcalling for a sweeping over-haul of the nation’s chemi-cal safety law to protectchildren.

“We know these flameretardants are hazardous,”he said in an interview.“The fact that you foundthese chemicals in cribmat-tresses is evidence of anongoing problem that we asa nation have been un-willing to confront.”

InMay, the Tribune pub-lished its “Playing WithFire” series, which revealedhow flame retardants arecommonly found in Ameri-can homes as a result of adecades-long campaign ofdeception by the tobaccoand chemical industries.Among other things, theleading manufacturers offlame retardants created aphony consumer group thatstoked the public’s fear offire to protect and expandtheuse of their chemicals infurniture, electronics andother products.

Readers repeatedlyasked

Flame retardants foundinside baby mattresses

Mattress samples are prepared for testing to see if theycontain flame retardants linked to increased cancer risk.


Continued from Page 1


Mattress samples are prepared for testing to see if they contain flame retardants linked to increased cancer risk.

inside a product rather than “risk assessment models” that look at whether a con-sumer is exposed.

The company wrote that its products comply with all safety commission regula-tions and that “there is no hazardous exposure to the cited flame retardants.”

“Summer Infant’s top priority in manufacturing juvenile products is the health and safety of every child,” the company wrote.

Stapleton, the Duke University chemist who led the largest study of flame retar-dants in baby products, offered a different take on the permeability of mattresses. She said chemicals like TDCPP can escape from products such as mattresses any time air moves through them. A truly sealed mattress would pop like a balloon when compressed, she said.

“Can you push your hand down on it, and does air escape?” Stapleton asked. “There’s no such thing as hermetically sealed if you have air coming out.”

Summer Infant mattresses had seams with visible stitches and had ends covered with overlapped fabric. A reporter was able to stick her finger between the over-lapped plastic and touch foam. Though it’s unlikely a baby would ever reach into that space, air can escape through it.

The Foundations mattresses also had visible stitching, and one had similar over-lapped fabric. In contrast, the Angeles mattresses had no obvious stitching or gaps. But all of the mattresses could be compressed with little pressure before springing back to their original shape.

Measuring a child’s exposure to chemicals in a mattress is complicated. The safe-ty commission’s proposed testing would apply 100,000 cycles of pressure over 24 hours to represent years of use, while sampling the air above.

To simulate bed-wetting and sweating, agency scientists plan to apply wet fabric to see what chemicals wick out of the mattress, agency spokesman Wolfson said.

“Once a thorough assessment of risk is completed, scientists can estimate the likelihood of a child experiencing any adverse effects,” the agency said in a written statement.

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