Hazardous Chemical Found In High-End Car Seat

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Parents often agonize over choosing the right car seat for their babies.

Some check safety ratings and reviews for ease of use and installation.

Others take it a step further and opt for infant seat free of certain chemicals. But a recent study reveals a high-end car seat marketed as the only seat without hazardous flame retardants has been found to contain them after all.

The Orbit Baby car seat has been a must-have for celebrity moms and many health-conscience moms as well. However, the car seat-stroller system can cost up to twice as much as others because of its specialized materials.

"The appeal of the Orbit, aside from being an all-in-one travel system, is they marketed themselves as the first car seat company that told you there were no bad flame retardants in the foam and we convinced people that was worth pay more for," said Suzanne Price, founder of children's boutique Sprout San Francisco.

Price said she only stocks items free of known toxic chemicals, something Orbit is known for.

It's website claims all fabrics and foams are tested to ensure 'below detection' limits of some of the worst known chemicals including TCPP, or Chlorinated Tris. However, that's exactly what a study by The Ecology Center found in the Orbit Baby G3 last year.

"The concern is it's associated with cancer, it is very close to a neurotoxin," said scientist Arlene Blum with the Green Science Policy Institute. "It's just not a good chemical."

Blum was instrumental in getting two forms of the toxin banned from children's pajamas in the 70's. Tris is now listed as a carcinogen known to cause cancer by the state of California.

Blum said she was not happy to learn the Orbit car seat tested positive for Tris.

"I was surprised, but not that surprised because there is no transparency," said Blum. "People who make products can't even find out what is in their products. I mean I think Orbit means well, but they just don't know what's in their products."

Orbit declined an interview, but in a statement says: "Orbit Baby requires our suppliers to follow a standard that prohibits halogenated flame retardants."

Orbit also said it does its own testing at independent, accredited laboratories.

But when asked if any of Orbit's own testing found any of the concerning chemicals in question, the company had no comment.

It turns out the Ecology Center wasn't the first third party to notify Orbit of Tris in its car seats. After customers told Price their Orbits tested positive for Tris, she had one of her Orbits tested along with another car seat she carries. The Orbit tested positive

"We immediately pulled it off all our floors," said Price.

To its credit, Orbit bought back some of her stock. But that was a year ago. As of this writing, Orbit's website still claims the products did not contain Tris.

However, Orbit does follow many of the best practices recommended by the Ecology Center and Orbit was not the only car seat found to contain Tris and concerning flame retardants. The ecology center tested 15 different car seat for its study and found concerning flame retardants in 75% of the car seats tested.

Orbit is the only one that claims it does not contain them, however.

Researchers say the larger issue is that companies don't disclose which retardants they use to comply with current law.
Many argue that regulators need to rewrite federal law to eliminate flame retardants in car seats all together.

Since as Blum said, "By the time the fire reaches the cab where the children are, having flame retardants under the child isn't going to make a difference."

Blum stresses parents should limit the time kids spend in any car seats, don't use your car seat as a stroller seat and never let your baby sleep in a car seat outside of the car.

Orbit said it has refunded customers on a case-by-case basis and has now removed some of the claims cited from its website.

For consumers who are interested in getting their car seat foam tested, Duke University's Analytical Chemistry Program will test your foam for free.