Overall Risks and Benefits
In 2002–2003 the American Chemistry Council’s Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel, citing an unpublished 1997 study, estimated that 280 deaths due to fires are prevented each year in the U.S. because of the use of decaBDE. The American Council on Science and Health, in a 2006 report largely concerning decaBDE, concluded that "the benefits of PBDE flame retardants, in terms of lives saved and injuries prevented, far outweigh any demonstrated or likely negative health effects from their use." A 2006 study concluded "current levels of Deca in the United States are unlikely to represent an adverse health risk for children." A report from the Swedish National Testing and Research Institute concerning the costs and benefits of decaBDE in television sets that was funded by BSEF assumed "no cost for injuries (either to humans or the environment) due to exposure to flame retardants... as there was no indication that such costs exist for DecaBDE"; it found that decaBDE's benefits exceeded its costs.
Read more about this topic: Decabromodiphenyl Ether
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