Researchers at Indiana University found that the blood concentration level of chemical flame-retardants in pet dogs are 5 to 10 times higher than in humans, HealthDay News reports. Scientists involved in the study tested the blood of 17 pet dogs that live indoors, checking specifically the level of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, also known as PBDEs. The results of the study were published in the online journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The average blood concentration of the flame-retardant chemicals was about 2 nanograms per gram. The concentration levels in the dog food tested were about 1 nanogram per gram on average- much higher than levels regularly seen in meat and poultry sold for human consumption. The results suggest that the added processing for dog foods contributed to the higher concentration of PBDEs.
PBDEs are used as flame-retardant chemicals in a range of consumer products, including everything from electronics to furniture. The danger of using PBDEs in these products is that the chemicals can migrate from the products into the environment, according to the university research news release. A particularly dangerous type of PBDE was removed from the US market in 2004, but the researchers found that high concentrations of the chemical are still lingering in the environment. Co-author Marta Venier, assistant research scientist in the School of Public Health and Environmental Affairs, was most concerned about the general lack of knowledge we have about the effects of these chemicals. “Even though they’ve been around for quite a while, we don’t know too much about these compounds’ toxicological effects on humans or animals,” Venier said.
Researchers say they plan to explore the potential effects of the chemicals on humans and animals. Pets could reportedly serve as “biosentinels” for monitoring human exposure to PBDEs in the home. Previous studies have shown that dogs have the highest levels of PBDEs of the different pets tested. Cats were found to still have higher levels than humans, but still less than dogs. Researchers believe dogs may be better biosentinels than cats because of their mechanism of metabolizing the chemical.
