If your sofa was made between 1970 and 2014, its foam is likely loaded with flame retardants—chemicals that can escape into dust and end up in the air you breathe.
A new study led by the California Department of Public Health shows the payoff of swapping it out: people who replaced their old, chemical-filled sofas or chairs with new, flame-retardant-free models saw levels of one common chemical, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), drop by half in just over a year.
The chemicals became ubiquitous in upholstered furniture thanks to older regulations in California. The state’s large market meant that flame retardants were used in furniture nationwide.
The tobacco industry originally lobbied for the rules in the 1960s, when smoking was a common cause of fires and the industry didn’t want to make self-extinguishing cigarettes. But flame retardants didn’t prevent fires effectively. Instead, they were linked to cancer risk, hormone disruption, and reduced IQ levels in children.
By the early 2000s, manufacturers began phasing out one type of flame retardant, and by 2014, California finally revised its flammability rules so that companies could sell furniture without flame retardants.
“In the early 2000s, there was a lot of accumulating evidence of the health effects associated with these chemicals, particularly for neurological development for children,” says Robin Dodson, a research scientist at the Silent Spring Institute and one of the authors of the study. “So the industry kind of saw the writing on the wall and opted for a phase out of BDE flame retardants in upholstered furniture.”
Initially, manufacturers switched to organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs). But after California updated its rules, some phased out flame retardants completely, so it became possible to buy furniture without them.
In a previous study, the researchers found a “significant reduction” in PBDE chemicals in dust after furniture was replaced in a house. The new study is the first to look at what happens biologically. The chemicals don’t go away immediately—PBDEs have half lives in the body ranging from 1.8 to 6.5 years. But when large furniture like a sofa is replaced, they quickly drop. (There was less change in OPFRs, which have a shorter half-life in the body and which are still present in other products, from cars to electronics.)
The scientists also studied a companion group of people who didn’t replace furniture. They also saw a drop in PBDEs in their blood and urine, thanks to the fact that more products are being made without the chemicals. But levels dropped two to four times more slowly than in those who got new furniture.
That doesn’t mean you need to immediately buy a new couch if your budget is tight. (There’s also currently no safe, environmentally friendly way to dispose of old flame-retardant-filled furniture.) “Our number-one tip right now today for flame retardants is to actually keep dust levels low inside of your house,” says Dodson. That means, for example, vacuuming with a HEPA filter that can capture dust. Washing hands before making food or eating also makes a significant difference, especially for children.
But when you do get new furniture, Dodson says, look for items that are specifically made without the chemicals. “We’ve been generally telling people, don’t run and throw out your couch,” she says. “But when choosing new furniture, choose without flame retardants.”