XPost: sci.math, sac.politics, alt.food.safety   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.home.repair   
   From: blunder-biden@crooks.rus   
      
   Editors of the environmental chemistry journal Chemosphere have posted an   
   eye-catching correction to a study reporting toxic flame retardants from   
   electronics wind up in some household products made of black plastic,   
   including kitchen utensils. The study sparked a flurry of media reports a   
   few weeks ago that urgently implored people to ditch their kitchen   
   spatulas and spoons. Wirecutter even offered a buying guide for what to   
   replace them with.   
      
   The correction, posted Sunday, will likely take some heat off the   
   beleaguered utensils. The authors made a math error that put the estimated   
   risk from kitchen utensils off by an order of magnitude.   
      
   Specifically, the authors estimated that if a kitchen utensil contained   
   middling levels of a key toxic flame retardant (BDE-209), the utensil   
   would transfer 34,700 nanograms of the contaminant a day based on regular   
   use while cooking and serving hot food. The authors then compared that   
   estimate to a reference level of BDE-209 considered safe by the   
   Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA's safe level is 7,000 ng—per   
   kilogram of body weight—per day, and the authors used 60 kg as the adult   
   weight (about 132 pounds) for their estimate. So, the safe EPA limit would   
   be 7,000 multiplied by 60, yielding 420,000 ng per day. That's 12 times   
   more than the estimated exposure of 34,700 ng per day.   
      
   However, the authors missed a zero and reported the EPA's safe limit as   
   42,000 ng per day for a 60 kg adult. The error made it seem like the   
   estimated exposure was nearly at the safe limit, even though it was   
   actually less than a tenth of the limit.   
      
   "[W]e miscalculated the reference dose for a 60 kg adult, initially   
   estimating it at 42,000 ng/day instead of the correct value of 420,000   
   ng/day," the correction reads. "As a result, we revised our statement from   
   'the calculated daily intake would approach the U.S. BDE-209 reference   
   dose' to 'the calculated daily intake remains an order of magnitude lower   
   than the U.S. BDE-209 reference dose.' We regret this error and have   
   updated it in our manuscript."   
      
   Unchanged conclusion   
   While being off by an order of magnitude seems like a significant error,   
   the authors don't seem to think it changes anything. "This calculation   
   error does not affect the overall conclusion of the paper," the correction   
   reads. The corrected study still ends by saying that the flame retardants   
   "significantly contaminate" the plastic products, which have "high   
   exposure potential."   
      
   Ars has reached out to the lead author, Megan Liu, but has not received a   
   response. Liu works for the environmental health advocacy group Toxic-Free   
   Future, which led the study.   
      
   The study highlighted that flame retardants used in plastic electronics   
   may, in some instances, be recycled into household items.   
      
   "Companies continue to use toxic flame retardants in plastic electronics,   
   and that's resulting in unexpected and unnecessary toxic exposures,” Liu   
   said in a press release from October. "These cancer-causing chemicals   
   shouldn't be used to begin with, but with recycling, they are entering our   
   environment and our homes in more ways than one. The high levels we found   
   are concerning."   
      
   BDE-209, aka decabromodiphenyl ether or deca-BDE, was a dominant component   
   of TV and computer housings before it was banned by the European Union in   
   2006 and some US states in 2007. China only began restricting BDE-209 in   
   2023. The flame retardant is linked to carcinogenicity, endocrine   
   disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive harm.   
      
   Uncommon contaminant   
   The presence of such toxic compounds in household items is important for   
   noting the potential hazards in the plastic waste stream. However, in   
   addition to finding levels that were an order of magnitude below safe   
   limits, the study also suggested that the contamination is not very   
   common.   
      
   The study examined 203 black plastic household products, including 109   
   kitchen utensils, 36 toys, 30 hair accessories, and 28 food serviceware   
   products. Of those 203 products, only 20 (10 percent) had any bromine-   
   containing compounds at levels that might indicate contamination from   
   bromine-based flame retardants, like BDE-209. Of the 109 kitchen utensils   
   tested, only nine (8 percent) contained concerning bromine levels.   
      
   "[A] minority of black plastic products are contaminated at levels >50 ppm   
   [bromine]," the study states.   
      
   But that's just bromine compounds. Overall, only 14 of the 203 products   
   contained BDE-209 specifically.   
      
   The product that contained the highest level of bromine compounds was a   
   disposable sushi tray at 18,600 ppm. Given that heating is a significant   
   contributor to chemical leaching, it's unclear what exposure risk the   
   sushi tray poses. Of the 28 food serviceware products assessed in the   
   study, the sushi tray was only one of two found to contain bromine   
   compounds. The other was a fast food tray that was at the threshold of   
   contamination with 51 ppm.   
      
   https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/12/huge-math-error-corrected-in-black-   
   plastic-study-authors-say-it-doesnt-matter/   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)