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Manufacturers of flame retardant chemicals, an industry that got a boost from Big Tobacco‘s shadow money decades ago, are being exposed to increased public scrutiny. In the fallout, a front group formed by the three biggest manufacturers, calling itself “Citizens for Fire Safety,” has been shuttered.

The

Chicago Tribune published its “Playing with Fire” series in May 2012, catapulting highly toxic flame retardants — present in many household consumer products — into the national spotlight. In the process, it not only highlighted the work of a handful of chemists who’ve been fighting to ban the most toxic of these chemicals, but it also exposed the “deceptive tactics” of the industry’s main front group.

“Killer Couch Chemicals”

The

Tribune series began by exposing “a decades-long campaign of deception that has loaded the furniture and electronics in American homes with pounds of toxic chemicals linked to cancer, neurological deficits, developmental problems and impaired fertility.”

The dire warning echoes what chemist and mountaineer Arlene Blum wrote in a 2007

Huffington Post article on “Killer Couch Chemicals”: “When tested in animals, fire retardant chemicals, even at very low doses, can cause endocrine disruption, thyroid disorders, cancer, and developmental, reproductive, and neurological problems such as learning impairment and attention deficit disorder. Ongoing studies are beginning to show a connection between these chemicals and autism in children.”