What can I do?
The issues raised by this indicator may seem daunting but there
are simple things you can do to protect yourself, your children
and leverage the resources of your business, community and elected
officials.
The following links may provide helpful information and are located outside
the EPA.gov domain. 
For Citizens and Communities
- Consult fish advisories: Check with local
and state/provincial health agencies regarding health advisories
related to fish.
- Purchase products without PBDEs
- Clean often and thoughtfully: Clean your
house and office often and avoid stirring up dust while cleaning,
avoid remodeling while pregnant, and use front entrance dust
rugs.
- Consult breast feeding and food recommendations: Check
with your state or provincial health organizations for the status
of on-going breast feeding monitoring studies and recommendations
for breast feeding (which is still preferable to bottle feeding).
See Health
Canada's PBDEs factsheet and PBDEs
in fish factsheet. Check out the Washington
Department of Health's PBDE Web page or contact Healthy
Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.51,52,53
For the Business Community
Adopt environmentally preferable purchasing: Work
to incorporate a PBDE ban or phase-out in the context of an environmentally
preferable purchasing strategy or an environmental management
system.54 Work with
your suppliers to ensure PBDEs are not in their products or negotiate
a phase-out plan with them.55
Support adoption of the precautionary principle
in public policies and in your own practices.56
Encourage the trade associations to which you belong to adopt
these principles and avoid reactive approaches to environmental
and human health issues.
Join the progressive business community: See
Global Environmental Management
Initiative;57 Coalition
for Environmentally Responsible Economies;58
Alliance
for Environmental Innovation;59
Network for Business Innovation
and Sustainability.60
Garner CEO support: Have your CEO issue a clear
and proactive statement about the company's commitment to lowering
product toxicity through elimination of known or suspected toxicants
and substitution of safer chemicals.61
Explore the benefits of socially responsible investing:
Recognize the real returns and liability implications of changing
approach to human health and environmental issues. Become the
company people want to invest in. See the
Green Money Journal.62
Work cooperatively to find safer substitutes:
Work with EPA's Design for the
Environment Program to research alternatives to bioavailable,
toxic and heavily regulated substances.63
Toxics
in Harbor Seals