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The chemical industry’s leading trade group says adding fire-snuffing chemicals to furniture foam “can be the difference between life and death.”

But when scientists in a government lab touched a small flame to a pair of upholstered chairs – one with a flame retardant in the foam and one without – both were engulfed in flames within four minutes.

“We did not find flame retardants in foam to provide any significant protection,” said Dale Ray, a top official with the Consumer Product Safety Commission who oversaw the 2009 tests at a laboratory outside Washington.

Moreover, the amount of smoke from both chair fires was similar, Ray said, noting that most fire victims die of smoke inhalation, not the flames.

The previously undisclosed test results call into question the widespread use of flame retardants in household furniture. Some of those chemicals have been linked to cancer, neurological disorders and developmental problems.