"A study published Wednesday reveals household laundry water is washing chemical flame retardant pollution into the Northwest’s biggest waterway.

Scientists with the Washington Toxics Coalition tested household dust as well as laundry wash-water from 20 homes in the Washington cities of Longview and Vancouver. They also took samples of incoming and outgoing water from two wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Columbia River. They detected flame retardants in all of those tests.

Their study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, concludes that flame retardants are sloughing off household products such as couches and TVs and collecting on people’s clothing, washing out in the laundry and passing through wastewater treatment plants into local waterways."

Cassandra Profita reports for EarthFix/OPB September 17, 2014. [2]