At a time when bottled water, green tea, and organic food is in vogue because more people are health conscious, it is striking that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has forced us to sleep in known toxicants in our mattresses. 16 CFR 1633, the new CPSC regulations put into effect on July 1, 2007 requiring mattresses to resist ignition from open flames, will lead to people sleeping on known toxic chemicals. Such chemicals include Ammonium Polyphosphate, Antimony Trioxide (arsenic), Boric Acid (roach killer), Decabromodiphenyl Oxide, Formaldehyde (a known carcinogen), Vinylidene Chloride, and Melamine (the substance recently found in pet food that killed many pets). What's worst of all, the CPSC required no labeling of these chemicals by mattress manufacturers so they are free to use whatever chemicals they see fit and the consumer is left completely in the dark on the issue.
Knowing that the chemicals that the mattress industry will use are known toxicants, the CPSC performed an in-depth risk assessment of these chemicals and their affect on humans. In this assessment they prove that people will absorb these chemicals into their bodies. Additionally they admit that the potential health risks are not completely known but regardless of the uncertainties, they claim that people will not be harmed from sleeping on these new flameproof mattresses. However, the Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency dispute some of the conclusions in the CPSC risk assessment.
