Flame retardant chemicals are in our furniture, in carpet padding, electronics and car seats, but they don’t stay put. They leach out of these products and get into our bodies. Some of these chemicals, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, were phased out of use starting in 2004. A new study in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology finds levels of PBDEs in kids' blood have been declining. Julie Herbstman is an associate professor of environmental health