Organic Baby
Crib Mattress

Toxicity Analysis of Baby Mattresses
Stealth Poisoning in Our Children’s Cribs

by:  Barry A. Cik, PE, CP, DEE, QEP, REM, CHMM*
Chief Engineer, G.E.M. Testing & Engineering Labs

INTRODUCTION

TOXIC CHEMICALS SUSPECTED IN CHILDHOOD DISORDERS

Childhood disorders have been rising dramatically.  Autism is now striking one in every 250 children.  Asthma is affecting one in 20 children.  Thirty to forty years ago, these disorders were found in no more than one in ten thousand children.  ADD/ADHD, allergies, and even cancer are also on the rise.

While the source(s) for this dramatic increase in childhood disorders is not fully known, there is mounting evidence and good reason to suspect environmental factors, particularly toxic chemicals, as playing a significant role.

“While genetic factors are thought to account for 10-20% of cases of chronic disease in childhood, the majority of causes are unknown.  It is strongly suspected that some pediatric diseases are caused in part by exposures to environmental toxins... no previous study has examined the impact of environmental toxins on children’s health.”
 (A National Prospective Cohort Study of American Children, Philip J. Landrigan MD, M.Sc., Pediatrician, Chair of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Director of the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, June 1, 2002, www.childenvironment.org/factsheets/longitudinal_study.htm)

“The increases are too rapid to reflect genetic changes, and better diagnostic detection is not a likely explanation. The strong probability exists that environmental factors are playing a role.”  
(Philip Landrigan MD, Pediatrician. Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Advisor to Office of Children's Health at U.S. EPA. John H. Cushman Jr., New York Times, 9/29/97)

BABY MATTRESSES: A SOURCE OF TOXIC CHEMICAL EXPOSURE

Over the last 30+ years, baby mattress materials have been replaced with cheap petroleum-based synthetics. Recent studies have questioned the use of these materials.

Nearly all baby mattresses today contain polyurethane foam, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chemical fire retardants (e.g. antimony, pentaBDE, modacrylic), plasticizers (e.g. phthalates), and an extensive list of added industrial chemicals.  Some of these chemicals have 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...”
(Respiratory Toxicity of Mattress Emissions in Mice, Rosalind C. Anderson, Archives of Environmental Health, January 2000, www.andersonlaboratories.com)

There is growing concern among physicians, scientists, health professionals, public safety officials, environmental advocacy groups, and consumers regarding the possible effects of these chemicals on our children.

Babies and toddlers spend 50-70% of their time sleeping and playing on a baby 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 an especially important object in the child’s environment.

This report is intended to highlight the potential risks to children from toxic chemicals contained in typical baby mattresses and present a framework for further research.  By no means is this report intended to be comprehensive or conclusive.  Rather, the intent is to point out what toxins are actually found in baby mattresses that may be of concern. 

Here is an overview of some specific concerns with baby mattresses:

1. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), the surface material used in nearly all baby mattresses, is widely considered to be one of the most toxic and environmentally unfriendly plastics in use today.

2. Phthalates, associated with asthma, reproductive effects, and cancer, make up 30% by weight of the PVC surface of a typical baby mattress.  Phthalates are not bound to the plastic and leach out.

3. The FDA and Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued general warnings regarding  the use of phthalates, yet the PVC surfaces of baby mattresses still contain phthalates.

4. DEHP (the most commonly used phthalate in baby mattresses), together with several other phthalates, have already been banned across Europe for use in many children’s products.

5. The PVC surface of a typical baby mattress is also treated with toxic fire retardant chemicals such as antimony.  Various biocides are often added as well.

6. Polyurethane foam, the predominant filling material used in baby mattresses, typically contains various problematic ingredients including chemical catalysts, surfactants, emulsifiers, pigments, and other chemical additives.  These frequently include formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, and other well established toxic chemicals such as organotin compounds.

7. Polyurethane foam (essentially solid petroleum) is extremely flammable.  To combat this hazard, industrial toxic fire retardants are added. The most common chemical fire retardant used to treat polyurethane foam has been pentaBDE, a toxin associated with hyperactivity and neuro-behavioral alterations. PentaBDE is not bound to the foam, and leaches out into the surrounding air.

8. PentaBDE has recently been banned in Europe. It has also been banned by the State of California as of 2006. However, there is currently no planned government action to recall the millions of baby mattresses presently in use that contain pentaBDE.

9. Other common materials found in baby mattresses include “shoddy” pads made from scraps swept off the floor of textile mills or “hair” pads made from pig hair.

10. Children are far more vulnerable to toxic chemicals than adults, especially within their first few years of life.  Considering that children spend over 50% of their early life on a baby mattress, it would be prudent to use materials that don’t contain such dangerous chemicals.

The NaturePedic® No-Compromise™  Baby Mattress, designed by G.E.M. Testing & Engineering Labs, addresses these and other issues.

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