Are children exposed to TDCIPP to the same extent as adults?

A research study found evidence of exposure to TDCIPP, a cancer-causing fire retardant, in the bodies of the 22 mothers and their 26 children tested. In the children, the average concentration of BDCIPP, a chemical biomarker left when TDCIPP breaks down, was nearly five times that of the average in the mothers. In the most extreme case, a child had 23 times the level measured in the mother. The study, the first to evaluate children’s exposure to TDCIPP, documents that children in critical windows of development are experiencing exposure to a chemical listed as a carcinogen by California health authorities.

The levels of BDCIPP in adults were two to six times greater than the median level reported in three previous studies, perhaps suggesting increasing use of TDCIPP. Since the study was the first to analyze BDCIPP in children, it is unknown whether the amount of this metabolite in children’s bodies has been increasing over time.