New Study Warns: Black Kitchen Utensils May Hide Risks of Harmful Chemicals

Recent research has indicated that banned toxic flame retardants may have infiltrated our household items, particularly cookware and food containers.

Researchers tested a series of black plastic products, which were originally used as protective components for electronic products, such as the back covers of televisions, and later entered the recycling process. These plastics, when used in electronic products, are typically treated with flame retardants. However, the study revealed that even after recycling, these chemicals, associated with various health hazards, remain in the materials at high concentrations.

"This study highlights the lack of regulation on chemicals entering the recycling system," Megan Liu, Science and Policy Manager at the Organization for Toxics-Free Futures and the lead author of the study, told Health magazine.

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Hidden Health Threats

This month, the study was published in the journal Chemical Circle. Liu and two other researchers, including an environmental chemist, tested 203 black plastic household items for various chemicals. These products included takeout containers, sushi trays, fast-food trays, children's toys, and kitchen utensils like spatulas.

Testing began with the detection of bromine in each item, a chemical found in some flame retardants. If the bromine content in an item exceeded 50 ppm, the team then tested for brominated flame retardants and organophosphorus flame retardants. These substances are commonly used in electronic products and are associated with health issues, including cancer and endocrine system disruptions.

The study found that 85% of the tested products contained flame retardant chemicals, and 65% contained mixtures of two types of flame retardants. Among them, sushi trays, spatulas, and pirate-themed bead necklaces (used for costume accessories) had the highest concentrations of flame retardants.

The necklace contained up to 22,800 milligrams of flame retardants per kilogram, which Liu noted was equivalent to 2.3% of the product's total weight. "We know that flame retardants can leak out, and children put toys in their mouths," Liu said. "This product contains four different types of flame retardants."

This necklace and other products used for storing or preparing food contained decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), a brominated flame retardant that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned from manufacturing, processing, or distribution in 2021.

The agency began phasing out a class of chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in 2009. At that time, it noted that PBDEs are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic to both humans and the environment.

A study published earlier this year in JAMA Network Open found that people with the highest levels of PBDEs in their blood had a 300% increased risk of cancer.

Liu said that the presence of decaBDE in household items after the ban suggests that manufacturers do not know the sources of their plastics, and the recycling system does not seem to separate plastics treated with banned chemicals.

In products containing decaBDE, the concentrations exceeded the European Union's limit of 10 parts per million (ppm) by 5 to 1,200 times. Liu estimated that the average risk of daily exposure to decaBDE could be as high as nearly 35 ppm.

Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., a resident scholar at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, told Health magazine, "This is a wake-up call."

Jamie Ross, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island, whose research includes the impact of microplastics on human health, expressed surprise at this finding.

"I knew flame retardants existed, and they are trying to phase them out in children's clothing," she told Health magazine. "But I didn't know they bypassed restrictions and were added to household products that obviously do not need flame retardants, and recycling did not strictly exclude these flame retardants as it should have."

The health risks posed by different flame retardants depend on their types, but studies have shown that these chemicals are bioaccumulative, meaning they accumulate in the body.

"The most concerning are cancer, neurodevelopmental effects, and reproductive and developmental effects," said Birnbaum, who was also the former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health and the National Toxicology Program at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Although other flame retardants have replaced decaBDE in electronic products, "they are still associated with neurotoxicity, cancer, and reproductive hazards," Ross said. "These are obviously not substances we want to be exposed to."

Coping Strategies

Ross said that manufacturers and those in charge of the recycling system need to drive systemic changes to keep harmful chemicals away from household items, especially those for children and food. Since plastic has become ubiquitous, it is difficult for ordinary people to completely avoid exposure to plastic and its chemicals.

Birnbaum told Health magazine, "This study only focuses on certain flame retardants, not all of them. There are many other chemicals in plastic that are also of concern." "I would avoid using black plastic food containers."

This includes cooking utensils. If takeout food comes in plastic containers, especially black plastic, Ross advises against reheating food in these containers and instead storing leftovers in metal or glass containers.

"Look around your home, take a closer look, and think about your daily life, how you cook, what containers you use to store food, how you make tea and coffee, and what utensils you use to drink beverages," Ross said. "If you have plastic items at home, wash them by hand instead of putting them in the dishwasher."

For black plastic items outside the kitchen, she said that a thorough cleanup is needed. For example, if wall decorations are made of black plastic, it might not be a big issue. But anything that children play with or use to hold food needs more caution.

"Not everything is perfect. When I travel, I put food in a hard plastic container that I've used for a long time. I don't heat it, and it's not metal," she said. "Try to avoid using disposable plastic to avoid exacerbating the problem."