"Kaiser Permanente Pledges To Stop Buying Flame-Retardant Furniture"

"The push to rid our bodies and the environment of toxic flame retardants just got a powerful boost from a major health care system, according to experts.

Kaiser Permanente, the largest U.S. nonprofit health management organization, announced Tuesday it will stop buying furniture treated with the chemicals, still common in homes, offices and child care centers throughout the U.S. Flame retardants have been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders and brain damage in children, among other ills.

'Our mission is the health of our patients and of our communities -- and that mission includes paying attention to pollutants that can cause illness,' Kathy Gerwig, vice president and environmental stewardship officer at Kaiser Permanente, said during a media call on Tuesday. 'We are the first health care system to make this change,' she added, 'but we expect many more announcements to be forthcoming.'"

Lynne Peeples reports for the Huffington Post June 3, 2014.