Toxic flame retardants commonly used in computers, televisions and textiles have accumulated dramatically in Great Lakes fish over the past two decades, prompting legislative efforts to ban the compounds.

The state Legislature in 2004 banned two types of the flame retardants, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Michigan was one of several states to ban the manufacture, use or distribution of penta-BDE and octa-BDE.

But a third type of the chemical, deca-BDE, is still widely used and can break down into the more toxic forms of PBDEs. Environmental activists and some scientists are pushing for a ban on deca-BDE, a persistent toxin that accumulates in the food chain.

"We're trying to head off the next PCB disaster in the Great Lakes," said Mike Shriberg, policy director for the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center. "This chemical acts a lot like PCBs, is extremely persistent in the environment and bioaccumulates; once it's here it's very hard to get rid of it."

 PCBs were a group of chemicals widely used as coolants in electrical transformers until they were banned in 1977. The chemicals, which can cause developmental problems in children and are suspected of causing cancer, are still found in some species of Great Lakes fish.

The state warns children and women of child-bearing age to limit consumption of certain fish to avoid ingesting potentially harmful amounts of PCBs.

PBDEs are believed to pose some of the same health threats as PCBs, according to scientific literature.

Though traces of PBDEs have been found in fish, wildlife and humans around the world, the levels found in Americans are much higher than those detected in residents of Europe or Japan.

Some of the world's highest concentrations of PBDEs have been found in Lake Michigan salmon, according to researchers. The concentration of PBDEs also have escalated in Great Lakes walleye and lake trout since 1980, according to scientific data compiled by government agencies and university researchers.

Currently, there are no advisories that provide consumers guidance on whether it is safe to eat Great Lakes fish containing PBDEs. The federal government lists the chemicals as possible cancer-causing agents; studies have shown the chemicals also cause reproductive problems and brain damage in rats.

Full Story: http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/03/retardant_poisoning_fish.html