Exposure to chemicals
”By taking paired samples, we have greater insight into the environment that the cats live in. Moreover the cats in the study spent the majority of their time indoors and therefore air and dust in the home is expected to contribute more than the outdoor environment”, says Jana Weiss at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University. The results are very interesting because small children, notorious for putting everything in their mouths, have exposures to these chemicals similar to cats. “The brominated flame retardants that have been measured in cats are known endocrine disruptors. It’s particularly serious when small children ingest these substances because exposure during the development can have consequences later in life, such as thyroid disease”, says Jana Weiss.
About brominated flame retardants
Brominated flame retardants are added to textiles, furniture and electronic equipment to prevent the material from igniting. Many of the brominated flame retardants have been found to be health hazards, and some are suspected endocrine disruptors. A number of them have been prohibited for these reasons in products like electronic goods. However, they are extremely persistent and can leach from the products for many years after they have been produced, ultimately becoming part of dust.
About the study
The researchers took blood samples from cats and gathered dust in the children's room, the adults' bedroom and the living room. The samples were then analysed for brominated and chlorinated contaminants. The researchers found not only those that are currently in use, but also chemicals that have been banned for decades.
The article Cats’ Internal Exposure to Selected Brominated Flame Retardants and Organochlorines Correlated to House Dust and Cat Food can be read here:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b05025?journalCode=esthag
