Chemicals in televisions migrate through the air and land on our hands

Did you know that your electrical and electronic products contain flame retardants, i.e. chemicals that are supposed to make them less flammable? Used since the beginning of the XX^and century to prevent the fire risks of new technologies, flame retardants are suspected of having harmful effects on the environment and health. Traces of these chemical substances have indeed already been found in dust, blood or even in breast milk.

Another reason to wash your hands regularly

For researchers at the University of Toronto (Canada), these flame retardants are an additional reason to wash your hands regularly. According to their study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Lettersthe flame retardants present in televisions can escape into the ambient air of our home, settle on other surfaces such as the screen of our mobile phone and thus land on our hands — which we bring to our face , with which we peel vegetables or fold clean laundry.

“Viruses are well known to travel from surfaces to handsExplain Miriam Diamond, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto and co-author of this research. Our study shows that toxic chemicals like flame retardants do the same thing. This is another reason why we should all wash our hands regularly and properly..”

Hands as carriers of viruses and chemicals

Researchers detected higher levels of virtually all halogenated flame retardants, all organophosphate flame retardants (RFOP) and phthalates (used as a plasticizer) on the surfaces of mobile phones and other portable electronic devices such as tablets, than on stationary devices such as televisions and desktop computers.

Traces of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a suite of 209 brominated chemicals, have also been detected despite their use now being banned in new cell phones. This suggests, according to the researchers, that these substances arrived on these portable surfaces via touch.

The consequences for health and the environment

There are 4 main types of brominated (bromine-based) flame retardants:

– Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) found in plastics, textiles or even electronic circuits

– Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDD), present in thermal insulators

– Etrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), which is found in printed circuit boards and televisions

– Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), present in household appliances, also textiles and plastic foams.

The toxic effects of these substances on health are not yet known, but studies have established a link between them and reproductive functions as well as the endocrine system. In 2017, researchers demonstrated in a study that perinatal exposure to brominated flame retardants was associated with impaired neurodevelopment in unborn children. Previous studies have also shown that exposure to these chemicals can lead to lower IQ in children and behavioral problems. Their environmental impact is such that traces of these chemicals have been found in the Arctic in 2017 and along the food chain. It is therefore difficult to escape it.

Limit our exposure to flame retardants

The association Environmental health France recommends, however, to give priority to “the furniture upholstered in cotton, wool or polyester” than those filled with foam,staravoid baby products containing foam (nursing pillows, high chair, stroller containing polyurethane foam generally containing flame retardants)”from “avoid carpets with a foam underlay” and of “dust off its interior” as regularly as possible, flame retardants are often found in household dust. Finally, remember to wash your hands”regularly and correctly”.