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Mid 1970s: Flame retardants banned in PJs

1977  CPSC bans brominated tris. The Consumer Product Safety Commission banned children’s pajamas treated with the flame retardant brominated tris (tris (2,3-dibromopropyl phosphate), in part due to work by Dr. Arlene Blum.

Blum, A., & Ames, B. N. (1977). Flame-retardant additives as possible cancer hazards. Science (New York, N.Y.), 195(4273), 17–23. [full text link]

1978  Additional flame retardants banned. The flame retardant tris-(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)-phosphate (TDCPP), a “regrettable substitute” for brominated tris, was found to be a carcinogen, and also banned from children’s pajamas. It is still in widespread use in other products.

Gold, M. D., Blum, A., & Ames, B. N. (1978). Another flame retardant, tris-(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)-phosphate, and its expected metabolites are mutagens. Science (New York, N.Y.), 200(4343), 785–787.