Table 1.

Lack of Awareness of BFRs

THEME I: Lack of Awareness of BFRs	Comments
IA: Lack of Knowledge of BFRs	“…flame retardants…I would probably like to know more about…exactly what product they are in…” RP7 “…how do you know what they spray on your stuff? Do they [spray it on]…everybody’s stuff?” RP13 “I haven’t heard why they’re dangerous, but I have heard that brominated stuff was in…car seats and stuff and that it’s obviously a chemical that’s inhaled…” RP4 “…I just heard about…something going up in flames, it’s best to get it sprayed…but I didn’t hear about the side effects or the concerns…” RP5 “…I think, it’s [in] insulation, in different…foams and things like that, but I didn’t know it would have effect on pregnancy, I’ve heard of it before, but mostly for its fire protectant attributes.” RP12 “…weren’t they using them on mattresses and pillows at one point and they pulled them off them…I do remember hearing that…if they pulled other things already then obviously…there’s something going on there…” RP1 “I see pajamas with flame retardant on it…I don’t really know what that means…so I never buy that, I always look for just cotton without any chemicals.” RP11 “I’m sure they served a purpose at one point, but why does my newborn need to have a flame retardant sleeper on her?” RP9
IB: Perception of BFR Health Effects Viewed as Insignificant	“…it’s everywhere…everyone’s been exposed to it…I suppose if you knew for sure, someone close to you, had that problem then I guess it would kind of hit home a little bit more.” RP12 “…a lot of these things [such as BFRs]…have been developed and people have got healthy children.” RP3 “…considering I have three beautiful, healthy children, no, not really [concerned].” RP9 “…maybe, if I couldn’t get pregnant, I’d think…maybe I couldn’t get pregnant because of the stuff they spray on things [BFRs]…but, I don’t know.” RP13
IC: Assumption of Product Safety	“… if there’s a product in the shelf in Canada I would think it’s safe to use.” RP21 “…I shouldn’t have to take…everything I buy and say, is this safe… maybe I should question more but I don’t. I just take it [product safety] for granted…” RP21 “…I just assume if it’s for babies [such as pajamas] that it’s supposed to be safe for them…” RP13 “…I should be more concerned than I am…I don’t go out of my way to make sure that I’m not using…products with those chemicals [such as BFRs], but then…how often to you see it labeled…” RP9