A chemical 'trojan horse': Polymers used in everyday products can degrade into toxic chemicals, study finds

The scientific community has long believed that polymers—very large molecules—are too big to migrate out of products into people and therefore pose no health risks. As a result, polymers have largely evaded regulation. For example, polymers are exempt from the major toxics acts: Toxic Substances Control Act in the U.S. and REACH in the E.U. However, a study published today in Nature Sustainability demonstrates that polymers used as flame retardants can break down into smaller harmful chemicals.