Anderson+Playing+with+Fire+notes

//Playing with Fire// **On number 3** Notes:
 * Starts with a dramatic story, explains that a doctor claimed that a baby was badly burnt, when really she wasn't.
 * By using flame retardants in furniture/pillows/mattresses/etc., babies wouldn't burn like the fictional one
 * Doctor and ties to industry, similar to tobacco companies (my note: also hydrofracking/natural gas companies)
 * Flame retardants unhealthy; found in high concentrations in infants; don't do much good
 * Some chemicals used in flame retardants are similar to DDT, other banned chemicals
 * Lawsuits that having flame retardant couches, etc. would have prevented victim from injury/death
 * Parents of baby girl shown by doctor were upset, never gave the doctor permission
 * Citizens for Fire Safety actually a trade organization, not the group of concerned citizens it claims to be
 * Cigarettes burning houses down; tobacco companies shifting focus to flame retardants
 * After a lawsuit, tobacco industry documents became public, show how tobacco industry shifted focus
 * Much of the safety of flame retardants comes from a small study that was misrepresented by chemical industry
 * Small sample size of other studies used by industry
 * US doesn't use precautionary principle like Europe; easier for industry to use chemical first then other groups do studies
 * Cancerous chemicals used in flame retardants; some companies have disclaimers, Walmart has taken worst mattresses off their shelves


 * Data sources**
 * Testimonies
 * Collection: may be written down or recorded;
 * Often public data
 * Hospital records
 * Collection: asking hospitals for data or to fact-check certain statements
 * Some data is public, other data private and protected by HIPAA
 * County data (example: baby's death)
 * Collection: county office, county website
 * Interviews
 * Collection: interviewing people of interest (scientists, parents of baby who died in fire, industry experts, etc.)
 * Lab data on mattresses
 * Collection: asked and paid labs to test mattresses
 * Studies (contaminants in blood, original studies on flame retardants, etc.)
 * Collection: reading online, possibly translating
 * Other types of public records (to fact check; also, tax records)
 * Collection: possibly online; also by contacting agency in charge


 * New study--what else would I need to know?**
 * Research question: aftermath of the article--what laws have changed since the //Tribune// article, and have they been a direct result?
 * Data needed:
 * Relevant laws from states/other governments that have been changed since the //Tribune// article
 * Records from governing bodies that have changed their laws
 * News articles from reputable journals about those laws