I have been hearing a lot lately that fire retardants are the new asbestos of this generation. When I worked at the renaissance faire in northern and southern California from 1980 to 1998 they soaked the place with fire retardants. They always said it was safe. Does anyone know the brand or chemical name used. I am very concerned. Six of my friends who worked faire have died of cancer in the last two years. I have two others who were cured of cancer. All under fifty. I remember this stuff all over the counters, tables and food storage containers. >:(
Wow. Welcome to the forums. :o
You would probably find out more if you were to contact the promoters of said faires. Legally if any chemicals are used in a public setting nowadays, they are required to post or have on file an MSDS sheet but I am not sure if it was a requirement that far back or not. And also it can be state to state regulations for that as well.
One place you could start is:
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/faq/partb.html (http://www.ilpi.com/msds/faq/partb.html)
But in general, many chemicals in our society have been known to cause cancer. Many in the home itself, even filling a vehicle with fuel there is a warning at the pump. I have not personally heard of any sudden spike of episodes anywhere, however. But that's just me. In looking at the statistics from cancer.org for 2011, California itself has the highest cancer in the US overall. IMO, I would call that a long shot for a retardant to be their cause.
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-029818.pdf (http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-029818.pdf)