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Dr. Gina, I am sick over learning about the conventional mattresses I bought for my twins (mattresses stamped December 2006). I am positive they include all the bad chemicals I am reading about, no doubt. They have been sleeping one them for over a year. My twins are now 15 months old. Until I can return the mattresses or get rid of them, what precautions can I take while the babies are sleeping on them? Do you think it is still a good idea to replace them or is it too late? Is the damage already done?

The good news is that you purchased your mattress before 2007, when the new more stringent flame resistant standards went into effect, so it probably has fewer chemicals than a new conventional mattress. It's difficult, if not impossible to know which chemicals were used on a particular mattress. Most manufacturers won't tell you which chemicals they use as flame retardants because they consider it a trade secret.

Mattresses made from petroleum based chemicals, such as polyurethane foam, are highly flammable and require the addition of flame retardant chemicals to make them flame resistant. Mattresses made from natural materials, such as cotton or wool, are more inherently flame resistant, so they require the addition of fewer chemicals.

Most of us are exposed to flame retardants not from directly lying on flame-retarded mattresses, but because they come off of the product and attach to dust particles. We either then inhale the dust or kids ingest it when they crawl around and put their hands in their mouths. Therefore, the best way to avoid exposure is to dust regularly and use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. I would recommend covering the mattress with a tight fitting pad or an allergy cover. These should minimize the amount of dust that escapes from the mattress.

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GINA SOLOMON is a senior scientist and physician in NRDC's health program. Gina specializes in internal medicine and occupational/environmental medicine. She is also an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco where she is a teaching physician at the pediatric environmental health specialty unit. She received her medical degree from Yale University and her specialty training at Harvard. She is a co-author of Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment.