Environmental Group Says Californians' Couches Could Be Toxic

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 26, 2008 at 11:27 AM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

An environmental group says most Californians' furniture contains toxic chemicals. The group says the chemicals can cause cancer and other problems. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has details.

An environmental group says most Californians' furniture contains toxic chemicals. The group says the chemicals can cause cancer and other problems. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has details.

Friends of the Earth says many of the couches and other furniture are treated with halogenated fire retardants. The group says those chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption and neurological and reproductive dysfunction.

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Sara Schedler with Friends of the Earth says people are exposed to the chemicals by inhaling dust.

Schedler : So when you sit down on a piece of furniture that's been treated with these chemicals the compounds are released into the air. They're invisible of course. They settle into household dust. And when we kick up that household dust we breathe in the chemicals.

She says there are safer fire retardant alternatives that don't use those chemicals. The group's report is called "Killer Couches." It's based on a sample of 350 pieces of household furniture in California stores and homes.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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