When Prof Miriam L Diamond, a leading international expert on chemical contaminants in the environment, and her team of students and trainees at the University of Toronto started testing new children’s mattresses three years ago, she was wholly unprepared for what they discovered. “We found a cornucopia of chemicals that simply do not need to be there,” she says. “We were shocked. We found flame retardants that aren’t even required by flammability standards.”
Diamond and her team have tested many different everyday products – from cosmetics and popcorn bags to school uniforms. She says they prioritise products with high potential for direct human exposure, especially in children.
