Schoolchildren at risk from toxic chemical dust on whiteboards, ...

Tag : Flame-Retardant Fabric
Schoolchildren at risk from toxic chemical dust on whiteboards,scientists warn
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:02 PM on 05th September 2008 Comments ( 13 ) Add to My Stories

The health of children in primary schools could be at risk frompotentially dangerous toxic chemicals in their classrooms, a newreport warned today.
Young pupils are being exposed to a cocktail of chemicals at levelswhich are higher than those found in homes, offices or cars,researchers found.

Dust in British primary school classrooms is contaminated withrelatively high levels of polluting compounds that could pose adanger to human health, according to the University of Birminghamfindings.
Danger: More contaminated dust was found in classrooms than cars oroffices

Experts say that classrooms could have seen a surge in chemicallevels in the past 20 years as buildings become packed withequipment such as whiteboards, projectors and computers.
Now campaigners are calling for more studies to be carried out onthe levels and effects of a range of persistent organic pollutantswhich do not degrade in the environment and can build up in humantissue.
The Times Educational Supplement said today that the research comesas concerns increase over the presence of dangerous materials inschools.
Last week 28-year-old Oldham woman Leigh Carlisle died ofmesothelioma after long-term suspicions that she had contracted thecell-tissue cancer after being exposed to asbestos in their primaryschool in the 1980s.
The university researchers took samples from 20 nursery and primaryschool classrooms across the West Midlands using a speciallymodified vacuum cleaner.
The samples of dust were then chemically analysed in thelaboratory.
The results showed that dust contained concentrations of HBCD,TBBP-A, PFOS, and PFOA.
All are persistent organic pollutants - chemicals that do notdegrade in the environment.
These can accumulate over time in human or animal tissue creatingpotential risks to human health and the environment.
HBCD is commonly used in wall insulation, electronics and fabriccoating, whilst TBBP-A is a flame retardant used in electronicequipment like computers.

In sufficient quantities both chemicals have been shown to havetoxic effects on the human hormone system.

PFOS and PFOA are chemicals widely used to stainproof fabrics andcarpets.
The results showed that levels of HBCD in classroom dust weresignificantly higher than that from samples in offices and homes.
Levels of TBBP-A were similar to those found in dust from homes,but higher than samples taken from cars and offices.
Scientists say that while classroom levels for the chemicalsstudied were still within Government safety limits, the long-termeffects of exposure are unknown.
Emma Goosey one of the report’s authors said: ‘Ourresults show that classrooms contain significant levels of thesecompounds.
‘ We already know that children are more likely than adultsto be exposed to persistent organic pollutants by consuming dust.We also know that they are also more susceptible to the effects ofsuch chemicals.
‘The levels in classrooms seem to be higher than some othercommon environments probably because of the high numbers ofcomputers and fire / stain retardants used in furniture.
‘Because they can accumulate in the body it is important thatwe monitor levels of exposure across our lifespan.’
Co-author Dr Stuart Harrad said: ‘Dust seems to be a majorsource of childhood exposure to these compounds.
‘Our initial work suggests that exposure in classrooms iswithin safe levels for some chemicals, but may not be for otherwidely used chemicals, and more work is needed to assess howexposure from various sources accumulates - particularly as thesechemicals remain within the body.’