NC State Researchers Find Chemicals In Children’s Toys Risk To Brain Development

A class of chemicals commonly found in everything from children’s toys to home furnishings may pose more of a risk to brain development in children than previously thought. The chemicals in question are organophosphate esters, which have been used as replacements for banned flame retardants in electronics, car seats and other baby products, furniture, and building materials. 

“The current thinking by some regulators is that these chemicals are safe because they were designed not to interfere with AChE,” says Heather Patisaul, a neuroendocrinologist at NC State and lead author of a new commentary published in Environmental Health Perspectives. “But the evidence points to organophosphate esters still causing developmental neurotoxic effects, likely through action on other neurotransmitter systems.”

https://news.ncsu.edu/2021/10/safer-chemicals-linked-to-neurotoxicity/