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In recent years, increased concern scientists began to invoke the so-called flame retardants or flame retardants, substances with potential toxicity. And in the U.S. developed a new method of identifying such compounds by a simple analysis.

For many years the manufacture of furniture, curtains, floor coverings, appliances, electronic devices and even children’s toys in the materials used for their manufacture, special substances are added, which reduce the likelihood of ignition.

Numerous class of such additives is called «flame retardants» (fire retardant). There is no doubt that the fire retardants helped save many lives in case of fires, however, it gradually became clear that the vast majority of them are harmful to human health. Flame retardants have the ability to penetrate into the environment and in the human body.

Proven ability of some flame retardants to degrade the ability of women to conceive (polybrominated biphenyl ethers – PBDEs), others have the ability to increase the risk of developing cancerous tumors of the thyroid gland.

A few years ago at a special conference of the countries-members of the United Nations even adopted a decision on the complete prohibition of production and use of flame retardants on the basis of hexabromocyclodecane, which, incidentally, is one of the most effective flame retardants.

Still to determine the level of flame retardants in the human body used complicated and expensive analysis of blood serum is blood plasma that has previously had to remove a protein called fibrinogen.

But scientists at the University of American state of Indiana (Indiana University) has developed a method that allows high accuracy to identify flame retardants and their metabolites in samples of hair and nails.

During the testing of this methodology, which was attended by 50 volunteers, it was found that the accuracy is not inferior to the classical method of analysis of blood serum and several times cheaper.

This method also enables researchers to identify the flame retardants in the environment – for example, with its help traces of flame retardants have been found in the bark of trees.