Restricted in the United States in 2004, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were flame retardants commonly found in objects such as foam-filled furniture, electronics, and building materials. Unfortunately, due to their persistence in the environment and their continued presence in older items, PBDEs continue to be absorbed into the body and passed down in a higher concentration via umbilical blood. Given the neurotoxic and endocrine disruptive properties of PBDEs, this new finding is of concern and highlights the need for a longitudinal study to better understand the long-term implications of the high concentration found in the blood of newborns.

Amina Salamova, one of the researchers from Indiana University, highlighted, "What is especially concerning is that we found consistently higher levels of PBDEs in the infant of each mother-infant pair, suggesting the babies have higher circulating concentrations of these potentially neurotoxic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals compared with their mothers.”

The research findings were published in the June 2017 issue of International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

[Source: Science Daily]