Ökotest Almost all air mattresses are poisonous

Twelve and thirteen tested air mattresses are highly toxic. According to Ökotest there are serious health risks.

(03.06.2010) Summer is approaching and the air mattresses are being unpacked for the beach. But beware, the results of an air mattress test were published in the new issue of the magazine "Öko Test". Twelve of the thirteen tested air mattresses are said to contain highly toxic substances that can cause nerve damage and are carcinogenic. In the test results received 12 manufacturers of air mattresses the predicate "insufficient". Only a single air mattress could pass the test and still got only the grade "sufficient".

The authors of the eco-test series warned against inflating the mattresses with their mouths. Because according to analysis results, almost all air mattresses on pollutants, which may cause the nerve damage or cancer. Among other things, high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were found in the products. These substances are actually used for pest control and are absorbed through the skin. These substances are carcinogenic. According to testers, some air mattresses contained 20 to 30 percent diisononyl phthalate (DINP). DINP is used as a plasticizer and should make the products more resilient. This substance may only make up 0.1 percent of children's toys that can be put into their mouths. Although children in particular have a great preference for air mattresses, it is not clear whether air mattresses are children's toys. The pollutant load are therefore so high, because then apply other benchmarks.

Sarah Häuser, spokeswoman for the Federal Union for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), was outraged by the results: "It is unacceptable that it is children who come into contact with dangerous chemicals, some of them extremely high concentrations." Therefore, clear laws must finally be created to protect health, says the environmentalist. All other test results can be read in the current issues of Öko-Test. (Sb)

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Picture credits: Stephanie Hofschlaeger, Pixelio.de