Do Mattresses Have to Be Flame Retardant?

on March 26, 2024

Why There Is the Flame Retardant for Mattresses?

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s safety regulations issued in 2007, it’s required that all mattresses contain flame retardants.

The US 16 CFR 1633 standard specifies the combustion performance standards for mattress products. In order to meet these standards, mattresses must pass specific combustion tests. These tests measured the trend of textiles continuing to burn after the fire source was extinguished, as well as the heat released and smoke generated during the combustion process.

The CFR1633 standard specifies the flame retardant requirements for mattresses, requiring mattresses to not produce a large amount of gas, flame, and liquid droplets under the action of flames, and the residue after combustion shall not exceed the specified value.

What is the Flame Retardant?

The flame retardant is a chemical or natural material layer in the mattresses to meet the requirement by flammability standards. These additives play an important role in preventing fires by initiating a chemical reaction that hinders or retards the development of a fire. Different types of flame retardants act at different stages of a fire, either solid or gaseous, by breaking down flammable components.

Flame retardants work by inhibiting the ignition of a fire or slowing its progression. Adding flame retardants to mattresses reduces the risk of fire, thus providing a safer sleeping environment.

Why are Many Mattress Flame Retardants Harmful?

Many of the flame retardants used in mattresses can be harmful for several reasons.

They can irritate the skin, causing discomfort and rashes. Exposure to these dangerous chemicals can also affect learning and memory, making it harder to remember things and learn new information.

Some chemical flame retardants have even been linked to the development of cancer, posing serious long-term health risks and damaging human health. They can harm vital organs such as the heart, lungs and kidneys, affecting overall health. Long-term exposure to these flame retardants can even lead to birth defects in newborns.

It is important to remember that these toxic chemicals can accumulate in the body over time, even appearing in the blood, breast milk and cord blood.

Though the regulation is intended to provide fire safety, it has produced a new health risk due to the use of the hazardous chemical composition of most flame retardants.

Most major mattress brands treat their sleep products with hazardous fire retardants in order to acquire the anti-flammable property necessary to withstand the two-foot thick open flame blowtorch test.

But, the regulation does not mandate the labeling of chemicals used in fireproofing; manufacturers are free to use any and all chemicals including those that have yet to be tested for hazardous side effects.

Ironically, the National Flameproof Mattress regulation in the US allows physicians, including chiropractors, to prescribe fire retardant-free mattresses for patients should they conclude that the health risks posed by toxic fire retardants will interfere with the patient’s well-being.

The requirement for a Flame Proof mattress is only applicable in the United States. There are certified organic factory in Canada, which producing mattresses without flame retardant.

If you are provided a prescription from a doctor stating that you require a mattress without a flame retardant, you can buy a mattress without a flame retardant from Canada sellers.

What Chemical Flame Retardants Should You Avoid?

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (commonly known as PBDEs) were the first flame retardants used in mattresses and other furniture. The foam portion of mattresses used to contain these chemicals, and they can be extremely dangerous.

Exposure to PBDEs can cause adverse health effects, including disruption of hormone levels and potential effects on neurological development.

PBDEs can dissolve into other materials, including the human body. Once these PBDEs enter the body, they do not go away. These toxic chemicals remain in human tissues and accumulate throughout a person’s life, causing a variety of adverse health effects.

In 2005, the use of PBDEs was banned in the United States, so no new mattresses built in the United States should contain these chemicals. However, if you are purchasing a used mattress or an old mattress purchased through another source, you should be very cautious and do your research to find out if it contains PBDEs.

Boric Acid

Boric acid is a chemical that is easily soluble in water, which means it can easily be absorbed into your skin while you sleep. Consider that boric acid is primarily used to kill cockroaches. You may not want to sleep on boric acid all night.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry states that the minimum lethal dose is only 2 grams for children and 15 grams for adults.

Long-term exposure to boric acid can cause kidney damage. In animal studies, prolonged exposure to boric acid resulted in skeletal degeneration, cardiovascular defects, mild kidney lesions and impaired fertility.

Antimony Trioxide

Although not as water soluble as boric acid, wetting can still cause this chemical to rise to the surface of the mattress. It is also able to become airborne with mattress use. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified antimony trioxide as a toxic substance due to its potentially harmful effects.

Inhalation of antimony trioxide is associated with chronic intestinal inflammation, pulmonary toxicity, respiratory irritation, and pneumoconiosis. It is believed to be carcinogenic and exposure to high levels can lead to Adam-Stokes syndrome.

Decabromodiphenyl Oxide

This flame retardant is commonly referred to as Deca and is very similar to the previously mentioned banned PDBE. It is also not as water soluble as boric acid, but sweat, saliva, urine and spills can cause it to adsorb to surfaces.

Studies in humans have linked it to liver tumors, decreased thyroid function, reproductive and developmental problems, and neurological effects.

Deca is banned in Maine and Washington, and there are restrictions in several other states including Illinois, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Montana.

Melamine

Melamine is extremely soluble in water. It is readily carried to the surface of mattresses and absorbed into the skin. The FDA found that when melamine is absorbed into the bloodstream, it interacts with the urine-filled kidney tubules, causing them to crystallize, damaging cells and leading to kidney malfunction. It can also lead to reproductive damage and bladder cancer.

Vinylidene Chloride

Vinylidene Chloride, a less commonly used fire retardant in mattresses, can still make its way to the surface if the mattress gets wet.

Prolonged exposure to this chemical primarily affects the central nervous system, leading to potential negative effects, include symptoms of convulsions, sedation, inebriation, spasms, and unconsciousness. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has also declared it a potential carcinogen.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass material can pass through thin bedspread fabrics and irritate the body’s skin, respiratory and digestive systems, causing permanent and irreversible damage.

To make matters worse, it can be difficult for the sleeper to clean loose fiberglass from the mattress if particles leak out of the mattress. This material is small enough to circulate through an air conditioning or heating system, and if the opportunity for mattress fiberglass to leak is not caught carefully and quickly, it can spread throughout the home.

Which are the Safe Flame Retardant Materials?

Many mattress manufacturers select to use natural or safe alternatives like wool, latex, aramid and rayon. These materials are good flame retardants which can pass flammability tests for safety.

Wool

Wool is now used extensively for this purpose due to its inherent natural flame retardant properties. The moisture content of wool can be as high as 30% of its total weight, which means that higher temperatures are required to ignite it. It burns slowly, smoldering and charring. This gives off very little heat.

The structure of wool is very unique. Because the fibers are packed together and twisted, they create an environment with very little oxygen. It is highly resistant to burning.

It is also important to consider that wool can introduce allergens, dust mites and bedbugs.

Latex

Latex is another popular choice. Natural latex mattresses are made from the sap of the rubber tree. Just because a mattress is made of latex, don’t assume that it doesn’t contain flame retardants. There are synthetic latex mattresses and hybrid latex mattresses on the market, so make sure you read the label of the mattress you intend to buy.

Rayon

Rayon is also an increasingly popular fiber because it passes flammability tests with flying colors and is cheap to produce.

Rayon is a textile made from cellulose fibers bonded with silica, but it’s not exactly natural or environmentally friendly. It does not contain dangerous chemicals such as flame retardants.

Aramid

Aramid is a flexible polymer, elongation, soft feel, good spinnability, can be produced into different fiber, length of the staple fibers and filaments, in general textile machinery made of different yarn weaving into fabrics, non-woven fabrics, after finishing, to meet the requirements of different areas of protective clothing.

The limiting oxygen index (LOI) of aramid is greater than 28, so it will not continue to burn when it leaves the flame. The flame retardant properties of aramid are determined by its own chemical structure, and it is a permanent flame retardant fiber, which will not be reduced or lost due to the time of use and the number of washes. Aramid is thermally stable and can be used continuously at 205°C. It maintains its high strength at temperatures higher than 205°C. Aramid has a high decomposition temperature, and will not melt or melt drop under high temperature conditions, and will only start to carbonize when the temperature is greater than 370℃.

Mesoaramid has excellent resistance to most chemicals, can resist most high concentration of inorganic acids, good alkali resistance at room temperature.

Mesoaramid has excellent radiation resistance. For example, in the 1.2 × 10-2 w/in2 ultraviolet and 1.72 × 108 rads of γ-rays for a long time under the irradiation, its strength remains unchanged.

Aramid’s excellent resistance to friction and chemicals. After 100 washes, the tearing strength of aramid-processed fabrics can still reach more than 85% of the original strength.

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