As of 2007 all mattresses are required to contain enough Fire Retardant to withstand a 2 foot wide blowtorch open flame for 70 seconds.

Essentia opted for the non-toxic fire retardant. We use a Kevlar mesh and believe the additional costs are well worth it.

• Skin irritation
• Learning and memory deficit
• Cancers
• Heart, lung and kidney damage
• SIDS
• and are now being found in blood, breast milk, and umbilical cord blood.

The innerspring mattress industry lobbied to have the FR law passed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) hopes to save an estimated 142-270 people per year from bed born fires. Almost 300 million people will be exposed once all mattresses are replaced by FR mattresses.

The Chemical Manufacturers Association spends hundreds of thousands each year to ensure products we use are laden with Fire Retardants.

Furniture, beds, paint, foam, carpet padding and electronics all contain fire retardants. 3,000 people die in fires each year. The Chemical Manufacturers Association estimates the number would be up to 960 higher without such flame retardants.

A new federal regulation (16 CFR 1640) passed a strict national flameproof mattress standard, mandating all new mattresses to withstand a two-foot wide blowtorch open-flame test for 70 seconds.

The national flameproof mattress regulation was approved in 2006 and is effective nationwide. Mattresses, sofa beds, futons, cribs and fold out beds are also included in the law. The law has been in effect in California since 1/1/05.

Acutely toxic chemicals are found in fire retardants. The CPSC concluded the exposure safe whereas the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disagrees. According to the EPA the dose of Antimony is 27.5 times higher than recommended. http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0006.htm


Daily, we will absorb:

• - .802 mg of Antimony
• - .081 mg of Boric Acid

These acutely toxic chemicals leach through our sheets and are absorbed by our bodies similar to hand cream.

Antimony is almost identical to Arsenic, it causes heart and lung damage. Antimony accumulates in our bodies and is regarded as a possible inhalation carcinogen. http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/a7236.htm

Boric Acid is used as Roach Killer, and is a known reproductive and developmental toxin.

Although the new law is aimed at providing fire safety, it has created a new health risk due to the usage of dangerous flame retardants chemicals. Mattresses are treated with hazardous and cancer-causing toxic chemicals to qualify for the severe two-foot thick blowtorch open flame test.

Since, the standard does not mandate labeling of the chemicals used in fireproofing; the manufactures are freely using any non-tested chemical.

Some frequently used chemicals in fire proofing are:
     - boric acid (roach killer)
     - antimony (a heavy metal alike to arsenic, a known carcinogen)
     - and decabromodiphenyl oxide (DBDPO, a carcinogen)

Boric Acid is responsible for numerous health risks including anemia, cyanosis, coma, testicle damage, infertility, sterility, fetal death and birth defects.

Ironically, the National Flameproof Mattress regulation permits physicians, including chiropractors, to prescribe fire retardant free mattresses for patients if they feel that mattresses outweigh the benefits for the patients.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that the National Flameproof Mattress regulation may be able to eliminate up to 75 percent of the 300-400 fire accidents deaths. To complement the health benefit of 300 million mattress-users, the new law should mandate strict monitoring and labeling of the products used in fire retardant mattresses.

Here are a list of chemicals found in Flame Proof Mattresses:
http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/material_safety_data_sheets.htm


Mattress glues are also a health issue that most people never really considered.

- List of Chemicals in Mattresses
- How to choose a memory foam mattress
- About dust mites


For more visit our Learning Center.