Some 30 or more years ago, bedding was made of untreated, natural materials, but now most come to the store bearing a host of petrochemicals, flame retardants and other additives. The initial reason for adding fire retardants to fibers was commendable -- fire marshals reported that more individuals died or were injured from mattresses or upholstered furniture catching fire than from any other type of fire. But we're now finding -- from growing reports of illnesses seemingly linked to mattress purchases -- that this solution may also have its serious drawbacks. Many people who suffer with headaches, joint aches, and other physical ills on a daily basis reach for over-the counter remedies to quell their pain. Few, if any, would ever suspect their bedding is the cause of their problems. We hear about flame resistant fibers from the CPSC and bedding manufacturers. These flame resistant fibers have chemicals blended with the fiber as the fiber is made. The Consumer Products Safety Commission lists the following chemicals as the primary ones used in bedding to meet current laws: boric acid, formaldehyde, antimony trioxide, decabromodiphenyl oxide (DBDPO Deca), vinylidiene chloride, zinc borate, and melamine.
BORIC ACID (H3BO3): known as the best roach killer, is a known reproductive and developmental toxin (demonstrated injury to the gonads and developing fetus), high pre-natal mortality, reduced sperm counts, and respiratory irritant.Risk of cancer depends on level duration of exposure. Harmful if inhaled or absorbed through skin. Causes irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory tract. May be fatal or cause blindness if swallowed. Cannot be made non-poisonous." ANTIMONY (SB203): quote from college chemistry textbook: "Antimony resembles arsenic very closely" Quotes from ATSDR a division of the CDC: increase in spontaneous abortions, disturbances in menstruation, failure to conceive & problems in fertility, may cause heart to beat irregularly or stop. Prolonged or repeated exposure can damage the liver or heart. The CDC cannot determine a safe level of Antimony exposure because "At the lowest exposure levels tested, the adversity of the effects was considered to be serious."
The cancer effects are cumulative. Deca (DBDPO): is in the family of PBDE’s being found in women’s breast milk, is known to bioaccumulate, is linked to cancer, and many groups are trying to get it banned. MELAMINE RESIN: barriers contain Formaldehyde The CPSC 2006 assessment found that we absorb a daily dose of toxins from flameproof mattresses alone, of; .802 mg Antimony (the EPA published safe number is .0004 mg), .081 mg Boric Acid, .073 mg DBDPO Fatal human dose is 2g child, 5g adult = mattresses exceed toxic levels by 27.5 times by the EPA in CPSC safety calculations. Most people have trouble believing that the bedding industry and the government have put poisonous chemicals in our mattresses to make them fireproof, and think they must use a different chemical. No, according to experts, the chemical used is exactly the same as the pesticide. A good example is to check an attached content law tag from your bedding; if it says 'Treated Cotton,' it is likely boron/boric acid.
Many doctors had initially opposed the move to add chemicals to mattresses, fearing such potential adverse effects. But the law was enacted, nonetheless. CPSC migration studies prove these toxins leach through our sheets to be absorbed by our bodies, and was based on assumptions of per hour absorption with our bodies. Children under 5 were excluded from the studies by assuming all children would be protected by a vinyl sheet over their mattress, due to bed-wetting. We do not know the extent our children's mattresses contain toxic and cancer causing chemicals, and the doses of poisons they are absorbing daily. And as of July 1 2007, more bad news. New federal regulations require yet more fire retardant material in mattresses, hence more potentially allergic material for the sensitive sleeper to contend with. Don't automatically think you are safe when using "natural" fiber bedding, as Cotton is said to be the worst offender, because it is the most heavily sprayed crop.
Cotton batting barriers contain 10% poison, 7.5% Boric Acid plus 2.4% Antimony. This is where it pays to buy Organic and not just natural. Certified Organic means the contents have been grown in an environment, harvested, processed, and manufactured without chemicals, with a lower carbon footprint than traditional. One new trend in all bedding is to speak about organic or green memory foam. There are ways to make memory foam more "green friendly" using latex made from the rubber tree. There are a lot of look-a-likes out there, so please be aware of what you are really purchasing. Make sure it is 100% natural and uses organic fabric covers, or you defeat your purpose of buying toxic-free bedding. Fortunately, there is at least one good method to reduce mattress combustibility without adding harmful chemicals. Manufacturers can add a layer of alpaca fiber or wool, to either side of an untreated natural fiber fill. This serves as an effective fire barrier - no chemicals needed.
Alpaca fiber or wool is a natural fire-retardant fiber without the need of chemicals. Malpaca pillows are filled with 100% U.S. Alpaca. Probably a dumb ? to ask you because your all about quality air (I'm pretty certain as to your answer but I'll try to justify the buy, er, I mean get your opinion and do the right thing :) But do you give the Tempur-Pedic mattress a thumbs down due 2 its supposed off-gassing/chemical nature? I am crossing both sets of fingers btw. I've been thinking about getting one again (I'm recently divorced and she got the bed, I loved that bed more than her, wait no, I mean, uh well, the bed was lovely) but since then Ive come across some negative stuff about it which annoys me greatly. What's that saying, oh yay, ignorance is bliss. looking for your opinion since you seem to be pretty darn informed about these things. This is a case where ignorance is definitely not bliss. I advocate the "bedroom sanctuary," making the sleep zone the least toxic
space in our lives. Sleep is so critical to healing that any chemical inhalant, even the consciously imperceptible, will disrupt the liver's detoxification efforts during the Chinese medicine "liver hours" - centered on 1 AM. The most health critical objects in your home are your mattress In general, there is a trend toward toxicity, off-gassing, and fumes, in all fabric products - clothing The issue of toxic mattresses is not confined to Tempurpedics, the vast majority of new bedding products are questionable. One-third of our lives are spent with faces jammed into pillows and skin laying in contact with fabric. Chronic low level toxicity absolutely will cause health to deteriorate - some people will become ill immediately, others take months or years. Further, a toxic bed places the individual in extremely close proximity to the chemical source so an air purifier really can't help. Two areas of mattress toxicity are of concern;
1.) fire-proofing laws which mandate extreme burn resistance, 2.) materials and production processes. One of my most exciting memories, from 1961 when I was 12, was a big fire in an old downtown hotel, caused by a cigarette smoker who fell asleep on a cotton mattress. Yeah, the time a freight train derailed right at the intersection of Fourth Street and Main and smashed into the First National Bank was better, but the hotel burned to the ground. For five hours, firefighters and volunteers from the crowd struggled to control the towering flames as century-old brick walls collapsed into the street. I was right up at the barricades trying to volunteer myself when my dad showed up and dragged me half a block away. What a bummer that man was. Causing an average of 440 deaths annually, mattress fires were a legitimate public safety issue, and a tort liability headache for the bedding industry, so naturally the Federal government stepped in.
The friendly-Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in the Federal Open-flame Mattress Flammability Standard (16 CFR Part 1633, 2007), forced us to buy controversial flame retardants in every new mattress in order to save an estimated 270 lives a year. The CPSC standard is extreme: mattresses sold in the United States must withstand 30 minutes of direct exposure to flame. This high standard means heavy doses of flame-retardants are used. I feel soooooo much safer now that Americans can buy petrochemical-free mattresses only with a Doctor's prescription. CPSC's regulation is self-declaring, so third-party verification, such as is provided by Underwriter's Laboratories (UL), is not required of manufacturers, Tempurpedic had already complied with the 2005 California version of the law when the CPSC action was announced. So each bedding manufacturer used a different proprietary blend of chemicals to meet the government fire mandate.
Mattress barrier fabric components are closely guarded trade secrets, but often include borate/boric acid and formaldehyde. Antimony, lesser known cousin to notorious poison Arsenic, is a common Bromine based combustion inhibitors (PBDEs), so obviously toxic (halogen substitution) were phased out amid controversy prior to the CPSC regulation. Workers who used the new materials at mattress factories complained of new symptoms, blaming the flame retardants. Unfortunately, the principal non-toxic CPSC-compliant alternative to memory-foam, wool-encased organic latex mattresses, are built of one of the fastest growing categories of allergen. Visco-elastic high-density polyurethane foam (memory foam), developed in the 1970s at NASA, is a recent bedding marketing fad. In general, memory-foam mattresses have the worst health record of any from of bedding. Tempur-Pedic International, Inc., of Lexington, Kentucky, manufactures
mattresses made of layers of high-density polyurethane foam. "The formula and manufacturing process for TEMPUR® material is a proprietary trade secret known only to a handful of individuals at Tempur-Pedic." So, although Tempurpedic and their fellow memory-foam manufacturers do not disclose the contents, an educated guess says memory foam, made from petroleum, contains numerous components with potential for off gassing VOCs. Foam obtains memory by varying levels of chemicals which change it's density in successive layers. Polyurethane foam can contain; A likely component of urethane foam is the known carcinogen toluene di-isocyanate. I worked in a print factory in the 1970s where we used toluene as a clean-up One guy became addicted to the solvent, he would hold the toluene soaked rag over his face. One very common complaint with Tempur's mattresses is a strong This is said to result from manufacturing gasses
trapped in small air pockets in the material, which collapse as the bed is used. My oldest son bought a Tempur-Pedic, maybe 10 years ago now. He said the initial smell was strong, but has no symptoms and loves the comfort for his He also trusts the government, holds long positions while the stock market tanks, and often disregards my health advice. Reports of outgassing fumes and polyurethane allergies are legion, with a long list of symptoms that subside when not using the Tempur-Pedics. Some individuals using ozone emitting air cleaners to eliminate the initial odor, as recommended new toxic byproducts as the oxidant reacted with mattress fumes. A couple years after this page posted, I bought a memory foam mattress, not a Tempurpedic. It was a showroom demonstrator and had out-gassed completely. I must agree with memory foam fans, this is the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on. After 5 years, it is still the best mattress I can remember.
In my opinion, many bedtime pain sufferers ("fibromylagia"....) have high acetaldehyde levels, which are worsened by fumes outgassing from This would explain the divergent user experiences - some love the Tempurpedic, while others, the more chemically sensitive, have pain and allergy symptoms worsen with the new bed. Mattress builders say there is "no scientifically proven health risk," but that is little solace, when we consider the enormous list of today's toxic torts for which that was the initial justification. I personally will not sleep on any new bed, and carry cotton blankets to cover any bed when I travel. Today is a good day to examine and discard discard toxic emotions which influence your decision making. So you could forgive your ex-wife and buy yourself a less-toxic alternative to the Tempurpedic. But emotional reconciliation won't be easy, so you can still buy a less-toxic mattress and sleep comfortably, knowing that your ex and her scumbag new boyfriend