Five Problems with crib mattresses: Introduction
This report, “Five Problems With Crib Mattresses,” is intended to highlight the potential dangers of using crib mattresses made with vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC), phthalates, polyurethane foam, chemical fire retardants, allergens, and other chemical additives.
It is becoming increasingly clear that toxic chemicals are affecting our children. A primary source of hazardous chemicals in the environment of a child during its first few years of life is the mattress and bedding. Removing potentially harmful chemicals from these prominent objects represents a prudent approach for concerned parents and their doctors.
G.E.M. Testing & Engineering Labs serves as technical consultant to Naturepedic, and has designed the Naturepedic No-Compromise™ Baby Mattress. Disclosures and Disclaimers: G.E.M. Testing & Engineering Labs serves in the capacity of technical consultant to Naturepedic. Barry A. Cik, a quarter century veteran in the field of environmental engineering, and chief engineer at G.E.M. Testing & Engineering Labs, formulated the Naturepedic design. Credentials, licenses, and certifications are listed for identification purposes only. All informational sources presented here are presumed to be reliable. This report is not intended to engage in medical research or the diagnosis or treatment of any disease. For medical related questions, please follow the advice of your physician.
Problem #1: Harmful Chemicals
Over the last 30+ years, baby crib mattress materials have been replaced with petroleum-based synthetics. Nearly all crib mattresses in use today contain
polyurethane foam, vinyl (PVC), phthalates, chemical fire retardants, and an extensive list of added industrial chemicals. Recent studies have questioned the use of these materials. Some of these chemicals have even been shown to leach out into the surrounding air.
“The results of the study demonstrated that some crib mattresses emitted mixtures of chemicals capable of causing respiratory-tract
irritation and generating combinations of SI [sensory irritation], PI [pulminary irritation] and AFL [airflow limitation]… chemicals involved in the manufacture of the mattress and cover… have toxic properties… to lung, liver, and brain… respiratory tract irritants… carcinogenic and neurotoxic.”
(Anderson, Rosalind C., PhD, “Respiratory Toxicity of Mattress Emissions in Mice.” Archives of Environmental Health Jan. 2000:, www.andersonlaboratories.com)
Babies and toddlers spend 10-14 hours a day sleeping and playing on a crib mattress. Furthermore, a child’s every breath inhales air no more than six inches away from these chemicals. As such, for the first few years of a child’s life, the mattress is the single most prominent object in the child’s environment.
The vinyl surface of a typical baby crib mattress, which is actually polyvinyl chloride (PVC), is originally a hard plastic. In order to make it soft and flexible, chemical plasticizers must be added. Vinyl covered crib mattresses contained these plasticizers which typically accounted for 30% by weight of the vinyl surface. As of Feb. 10 2009, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) issued a ban on certain varieties of phthalates. However, other phthalates have only been banned for teethers and other objects expected to be placed into a child’s mouth, so they still may be present in vinyl crib mattresses. Another phthalate chemical known to cause cancer (DnHP) has not yet been banned at all. Since the ban, other plasticizer substitutes are now being used whose safety has yet to be demonstrated.
“Phthalates are animal carcinogens and can cause fetal death, malformations, and reproductive toxicity in laboratory animals… children may be at higher risk of adverse effects of phthalates because of anticipated higher exposures during a time of developmental and physiologic immaturity… Phthalates are not covalently bound to the plastic matrix and leach out of PVC…”
(Shea, Katherine M. MD MPH and the Committee on Environmental Health. “Pediatric Exposure and Potential Toxicity of Phthalate Plasticizers.” American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatrics Volume 111 No. 6. June 2003. Pg. 1467.
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;111/6/1467)
“Although DEHP plasticizes numerous products, roughly 95% of the current production is used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (National Toxicology
Program 2003), where it typically constitutes 30% of PVC by weight… phthalate (DEHP) was associated with asthma. This study shows that
phthalates, within the range of what is normally found in indoor environments, are associated with allergic symptoms in children.”
(Bornehag, Carl-Gustaf, et al. “The Association Between Asthma and Allergic Symptoms in Children and Phthalates in House Dusts.” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Environmental Health Perspectives. Oct. 2004. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2004/7187/abstract.phpl?section=children)
A study of phthalates in hospital settings revealed the following:
“Other potential respiratory exposures to DEHP in the NICU include offgassing from… mattress covers… DEHP exposures continue when the neonate arrives at home… off-gassing of indoor vinyl products.” (Brody, Charlotte. “Neonatal Exposure to DEHP and Opportunites for Prevention.”
Health Care Without Harm. July 13, 2000. http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=379)
“The CDC report provides definitive evidence that phthalates in soft PVC plastic are getting into virtually all of our bodies.”
(Brody, Charlotte. “New CDC Report Finds Phthalates and Other Chemicals Commonly Used in Hospitals at Highest Levels in Children.” Health Care Without Harm. February 5, 2005. http://www.noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=707)
All plastics are not created equal. PVC is made from vinyl chloride, which is a combination of petroleum (ethylene) and chlorine.
This particular plastic is far more toxic than the plastic bag you might use to pack your lunch.
“The chemical composition of PVC includes two features. First, PVC is the only plastic that contains chlorine… Second, plasticizers, i.e., additives, are used in PVC, mostly diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), from 0 to almost 50% of the weight… In conclusion, in our case-control study of testicular cancer, a somewhat surprisingly high risk was observed for exposure to PVC plastics.”
(Hardell, Lennart, et al. “Occupational Exposure to Polyvinyl Chloride as a Risk Factor for Testicular Cancer Evaluated in a Case-Control Study.” International Journal of Cancer. 73, 828-830 1997. www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Occupational-Exposure-PVC.php See also National Library of Medicine)
In a study that made the front page of USA Today, phthalates were linked to reproductive effects:
“Consistent toxicologic evidence indicates association between several of these phthalate esters and reproductive effects… DEHP has been shown to… reduce testosterone… commonly used phthalates may undervirilize humans.”
(Swan, et al, “Decrease in Anogenital Distance Among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure.” University of Rochester School of Medicine, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Health Perspectives, June, 2005. www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYP/is_8_113/ai_n15343367)
Some of the chemicals frequently added to the PVC surface of a typical crib mattress can include lead, cadmium, phosphorus, and others. In particular, antimony, the primary fire retardant used on the vinyl plastic surface of most crib mattresses, can be quite harmful even at low levels.
“… animals that breathed very low levels of antimony had eye irritation, hair loss, lung damage and heart problems. Problems with fertility were
also noted… Where is antimony found?… Most antimony oxide produced is added to textiles and plastics as fire retardant… ”
(“Antimony and Antimony Compounds.” Pollution Prevention Factsheet. Ohio EPA. Number 102. September 2002. www.epa.state.oh.us/opp/mercury_pbt/fact102.pdf)
According to Health Care Without Harm, “many hospitals are reconsidering their use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) medical products. Their concerns with PVC products relate to patient safety or potential environmental health effects.” (http://noharm.org/details.cfm?type=document&id=741). Nearly all baby crib mattresses today use polyurethane foam (also known as urethane foam or just “foam”) as internal filling. Polyurethane foam is a petroleum product, and as such, is highly flammable. “Avoid heavily chemically treated mattresses filled with polyurethane foam… Polyurethane foam offgasses VOCs, especially toluene… Formaldehyde and other VOC offgassing is associated with… mattresses.”
(“Green Birthdays.” American College of Nurse-Midwives. www.midwivesofwa.org/greenbirthdays.pdf) Some of the health hazards listed on manufacturer material safety data sheets (MSDS) for polyurethane foam include: possible cardiac arrhythmias, breathlessness, chest discomfort, irritation of mucous membranes, headache, coughing, asthma-like allergic reaction, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, nausea, blurred vision, and reduced pulmonary function. Polyurethane foam is produced by combining a polyol (petroleum based) with an isocyanate (usually toluene diisocyanate or TDI), which is a highly toxic substance.
The EPA has identified several chemicals used in the fabrication of polyurethane foam as hazardous air pollutants. “Exposure to these substances has been demonstrated to cause adverse health effects such as irritation of the lung, eye, and mucous membranes, effects on the central nervous system, and cancer.”
(“National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Flexible Polyurethane Foam Fabrication Operations.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 40 CFR Part 63, Final Rule, Federal Register/Volume 68, No. 71/Monday, April 14, 2003/Rules and Regulations, Pg 18062)
“Organotin compounds – Found in… polyurethane foams… can disrupt the hormone, reproductive, and immune systems. Animal studies show that exposure early in life can also have long-term effects on brain development.”
(“Hazardous Chemicals Found in Household Dust Across U.S.” Health Care Without Harm. March 24, 2005. www.noharm.org/details.cfm?ID=1037&type=document) The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 goes a long way in prohibiting the use of certain phthalates and lead in many juvenile products. However, other phthalates, phthalate substitutes and many other chemicals remain in use for baby crib mattresses and have yet to be regulated.
Regarding polyurethane foam and its chemical constituents and additives, it should be noted that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has not regulated any of these chemicals, and certainly not regarding their use in baby crib mattresses. In fact, there is poor transparency and few details as to what chemicals are actually being used to make polyurethane foam today. While U.S. manufacturers have begun taking note, imported foam may contain ingredients that even U.S. manufacturers have stopped using (e.g. PBDEs).