In October 1976 I climbed up to 24,500 feet on the steep icy slopes of Mt. Everest and set an altitude record for an American woman. The day before, at my high camp, I had completed editing my article for Science magazine reporting a toxic flame retardant in most American children’s pajamas.
Three days later, two members of our team climbed to the top of Mt. Everest and succeeded in making the second American ascent of the world’s highest mountain. Meanwhile I climbed back down to Everest basecamp and my article was carried by a mail runner to Kathmandu, Nepal and then by airmail back to the U.S. The article was published in Science magazine with the subtitle: “The main flame retardant in children’s pajamas is a mutagen and should not be used.” Three months after the article was published, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned children’s pajamas containing this chemical. The flame retardant, which we called “Tris,” had also been found to be cancer-causing. Happily, Tris stopped being used in children’s clothing and a generation of children was spared additional years of exposure to this harmful substance.
Nearly half a century later, my organization, the Green Science Policy Institute, is collaborating with Consumer Reports and the International Association of Firefighters to stop the use of the same toxic Tris and related harmful and ineffective flame retardants inside our cars. Together with Duke University, our Institute studied air and foam from 101 cars representing 22 brands–all the common car brands–and in 2024 published a peer-reviewed scientific paper finding Tris flame retardants in 99% of the 101 current vehicles we tested. It’s so unfortunate that half a century after Tris was removed from baby pajamas due to health concerns, such a chemical is still being used.
History Of Flame Retardants In Cars
Why are there cancer-causing flame retardants inside our cars? The chemicals are needed to meet a flammability standard that was set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority (NHTSA) in 1970 without data showing that using the toxic chemicals would increase fire safety.
Today, May 15, 2025, is the date NHTSA is supposed to respond to our joint petition with Consumer Reports and the firefighters asking the agency to begin the necessary research to update its 1970 requirement leading to cancer-causing chemicals in our nation’s cars.
Back in the 1970s, many people smoked and fires were more common. Flame retardants seemed a good way to prevent fires, so without further exploration of their real-world benefits or potential for health harm, cancer-causing flame retardants were added to the foam inside our furniture, baby products, and cars at levels of about 5% of the weight of the foam. No one investigated if there was a real world fire safety benefit, which turned out to be very limited. And no one checked to see if these chemicals stay inside products and if they are harmful. Since the 1970s, considerable research has shown that flame retardants continuously migrate out of foam in furniture and cars into the environment–and people’s bodies–and are very harmful to human and ecosystem health.
Also, numerous human epidemiology studies found that one flame retardant used for decades in furniture and vehicles has caused an average loss of four IQ points in our children costing billions of dollars in lost productivity annually as well as greatly increasing cancer deaths across our population–all without providing a proven fire safety benefit.
Moving From Science Into Action On Flame Retardants
Our research in 1976 showed that the chemicals in baby pajamas were mutagens, which means they changed DNA. Even more alarming, after children wore flame retardant pajamas even for one day, toxic chemicals were found in their urine the same as if they had eaten the flame retardants!
In those days, when our entire country watched the same media, I spoke about our finding toxic flame retardants in baby pajamas on the three major television networks in January 1977. Three months later in April 1977, baby pajamas with Tris flame retardants were banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. However, the same chemicals quietly continued to be used in our furniture and in our cars.
While it took three months in 1977 from the publication of our scientific paper to stopping the use of Tris in baby pajamas, preventing the use of such chemicals in our furniture required eight years of hard work, scientific research and advocacy. Overcoming tens of millions of lobbying dollars spent by the flame-retardant industry to keep these toxic and chemicals in our furniture and children’s products was one major challenge.
Climbing Towards A Healthier World
Indeed, our work for furniture and cars that are both healthy and fire safe is for me reminiscent of climbing the world’s highest and most challenging mountains. First you need to define your summit. Then you need to find others who share your objective, be it a mountaintop or a healthier world. You must raise funds, plan your route, purchase and pack your supplies, pick up heavy loads, and slowly move upwards towards your goal. Along the way you must overcome steep slopes, storms, and avalanches. An occasional Yeti may pop out to block your path. But with a committed team and clear focus on your objective, you can reach the summit of a healthier world.
To learn more about my own route towards leading a women’s team in making the first American ascent of Annapurna I–said to be the most dangerous and difficult of the world’s highest mountains–and other adventures, as well as preventing the use of harmful chemicals in everyday products, you can check out our Institute website, GreenSciencePolicy.org, and my very personal memoir, “Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life.”