The editors of the environmental chemistry journal ChemOSfera have published an eye-catching correction to a study reporting toxicity flame retardants from electronics end up in some household products made of black plasticincluding kitchen utensils. The study resulted in: avalanche of media reports a few weeks ago that he was urgently begging people ditch the kitchen spatulas and spoons. Wirecutter even offered a buying guide what to replace them with?.
Adjustmentpublished on Sunday, will probably serene down the besieged devices a bit. The authors made a mathematical error that underestimated the risk associated with kitchen utensils by an order of magnitude.
Specifically, the authors estimated that if the cookware contained medium levels of a key toxic flame retardant (BDE-209), it would transmit 34,700 nanograms of the contaminant per day with regular exploit in cooking and serving sizzling foods. The authors then compared these estimates to the BDE-209 reference level considered secure by the Environmental Protection Agency. The secure level established by the EPA is 7,000 ng per kilogram of body weight per day, and for the estimates the authors used 60 kg as the weight of an adult (approximately 132 pounds). So the EPA secure limit would be 7,000 multiplied by 60, which would be 420,000 ng per day. This is 12 times the estimated exposure of 34,700 ng per day.
However, the authors omitted zero and gave the EPA secure limit at 42,000 ng per day for an adult weighing 60 kg. The error made it appear as if the estimated exposure was almost at a secure level, even though it was actually less than one-tenth of the limit.
“[W]We incorrectly calculated 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,” we read in the correction. “As a result, we have revised our statement on the basis of “calculated daily intake would approximate the U.S. reference dose of BDE-209,” while “calculated daily intake remains an order of magnitude lower than the U.S. reference dose of BDE-209.” We regret this error and have updated it in our manuscript.”
Conclusions unchanged
Although an order of magnitude shift seems like a stern error, the authors don’t seem to think it changes anything. “This calculation error does not affect the overall conclusion of the article,” we read in the correction. The revised study continues to conclude that flame retardants “significantly contaminate” plastic products, which have a “high potential for exposure.”
Ars reached out to lead writer Megan Liu but did not hear back. Liu works for the environmental health group Toxic-Free Future, which led the study.
The study highlights that flame retardants used in plastic electronics can in some cases be recycled and made into household products.