FIX IT: Perfluorochemicals and Scotchgard

Tag : Mattress Protector
By KAREN YOUSO Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Question: Scotchgard contains perfluorochemicals, which have beenin the news. I have Scotchgard on my children's mattresses. Canthey safely sleep on these?
Answer: It's probably safe to sleep on a mattress that was treatedwith Scotchgard, said Minnesota Health Department spokesman DougSchultz. The worry with perfluorochemicals (PFC) is ingestion, notskin contact.
Children would have to get it into their mouths. One way that mighthappen is as Scotchgard breaks down over time and becomes part ofhousehold dust. Using a mattress pad and sheets, however, willvirtually eliminate that exposure, Schultz said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is engaged in a majoreffort with companies that have made or used PFCs to investigatehow PFCs enter the environment, and ultimately how people areexposed to them. In addition, the EPA has announced an initiativeto phase out the use of PFOA by 95 percent by 2010 and entirely by2015. 3M eliminated its use of PFOA and PFOS(perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) in 2002.
That's when Scotchgard fabric protector was reformulated, said 3Mspokesman Bill Nelson. The fabric protector now uses a differentform of PFC that has improved environmental health and safetycharacteristics, he said.
-Includes information from the Minnesota Health Departmentpublication: "Perfluorochemicals and Health"
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