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Organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in house dust and Child Behavior Checklist outcomes: A nested study in the Canadian CHILD Birth Cohort

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 36, pages 322–333 (2026)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Organophosphate esters and plasticizers (OPEs) are used in consumer materials to meet flammability standards. Toxicological and epidemiological evidence suggests some OPEs are developmental neurotoxicants.

Objective

We investigated associations between OPE exposures as measured in house dust and emotional and behavioral problems in young children.

Methods

We used data from the CHILD Cohort Study (n = 601), a prospective birth cohort recruited in 5 cities across Canada (2008-2012). OPEs were measured in house dust at 3-4 months postpartum, and parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), which measures emotional and behavioral problems when their child was 5 years. We used logistic regression to examine associations between OPE Z-scores (individual and summed chlorinated [ΣOPECl] and non-chlorinated [ΣOPENCl]) and CBCL problem scale scores (borderline and clinical T-scores ≥60 and normal <60).

Results

Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) showed strong, positive associations with CBCL Total and Externalizing scores at or above the clinical cutoff, meaning children with higher levels of TCEP in house dust postpartum had higher odds of developing clinically relevant behavioral problems in early childhood compared to children with lower levels (Total ORadj: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.87; Externalizing ORadj: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.85). Similarly, 4-isopropylphenyl diphenyl phosphate, a Firemaster 550 component, had a strong, positive association with Internalizing scores (ORadj: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.51). We observed a weak association between ΣOPECl and Total scores (Odds Ratio [OR] adjusted: 1.14, 95% Confidence Intervals [CI]: 0.97, 1.33) and null associations for ΣOPENCl. Associations were generally stronger among boys (ΣOPECl Total ORadj: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.68).

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Impact

  • Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are common aspects of our built environment and increasingly recognized as developmental neurotoxicants. Using data from a large Canadian birth cohort, we investigated associations between OPE exposures as measured in house dust postpartum and emotional and behavioral problems in children. We found that levels of two OPE compounds (tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate and a component of Firemaster 550) were associated with increased odds of clinically relevant behavioral problems in early childhood. This important work underscores the urgent need for public health policies to limit the use of certain OPEs in consumer products to reduce children’s exposure to harmful chemicals.

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Data availability

Details about study questionnaires, samples collected, protocols, policies and procedures are free and available to the public at https://childstudy.ca. Access to individual-level participant data from the CHILD Cohort Study is protected. However, investigators may submit proposals for data access at the website listed above.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the CHILD Cohort Study (CHILD) participant families for their dedication and commitment to advancing health research. CHILD was initially funded by CIHR and AllerGen NCE. Visit CHILD at childstudy.ca. We thank Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Sarah Lavoie Bernstein for their support in the analysis of the dust samples. We also thank the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) for providing ambient air pollution data.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under grant numbers P2C ES033432 and R01 ES029497. Additional funding was provided by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) through the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI), Grant Award Number TL1 TR 002371. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nutrition and Public Health, College of Health, Oregon State University, 160 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Stephanie A. Foster, Molly L. Kile & Perry Hystad

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 22 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada

    Miriam L. Diamond

  3. School of the Environment, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Suite 1016V, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E8, Canada

    Miriam L. Diamond

  4. Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, University of Alberta, 11405-87 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1C9, Canada

    Piush J. Mandhane & Jacqueline Pei

  5. Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UCSI University, 1 Jalan UCSI, UCSI Heights (Taman Connaught), Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Piush J. Mandhane

  6. Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Black Wing Room 1436, Toronto, ON, M5G 1×8, Canada

    Theo J. Moraes & Padmaja Subbarao

  7. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Sixth Floor, Toronto, ON, MST 3M7, Canada

    James A. Scott, Padmaja Subbarao & Jeffrey R. Brook

  8. Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, 840 Sherbrook Street, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3A 1S1, Canada

    Elinor Simons

  9. Department of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Blusson Hall, Room 11300, Burnaby, B.C, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Tim K. Takaro

  10. Pediatric Immunology, The University of British Columbia, 2329 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Sukhpreet K. Tamana & Stuart E. Turvey

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  1. Stephanie A. Foster
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  2. Molly L. Kile
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  6. Theo J. Moraes
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  8. James A. Scott
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  11. Tim K. Takaro
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  14. Jeffrey R. Brook
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Stephanie A. Foster: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review and Editing, Visualization, Project administration, Funding acquisition; Molly L. Kile: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Review and Editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition; Perry Hystad: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Review and Editing, Supervision; Miriam L. Diamond: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Piush J. Mandhane: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Theo J. Moraes: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Jacqueline Pei - Investigation, Data curation, Writing – Review and Editing; James A. Scott: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Elinor Simons: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Padmaja Subbarao: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Tim K. Takaro: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Sukhpreet Tamana- Investigation, Data curation, Writing – Review and Editing; Stuart E. Turvey: Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing; Jeffrey R. Brook: Data curation, Investigation, Writing – Review and Editing, Supervision.

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Correspondence to Stephanie A. Foster.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process

During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used ChatGPT in a few minor instances to improve the readability and flow of certain sections in the manuscript. After using this tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by Oregon State University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB-2021-1250). Ethics approvals for CHILD were obtained from research ethics boards at each health center and approval for analyses was obtained from the University of Toronto Health Sciences Research Ethics Board (No. 36169). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

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The authors confirm that this work is original. It has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under consideration for publication in any other journal or magazine. All the authors listed have approved the manuscript for publication.

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Foster, S.A., Kile, M.L., Hystad, P. et al. Organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in house dust and Child Behavior Checklist outcomes: A nested study in the Canadian CHILD Birth Cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 36, 322–333 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00821-y

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