A new study found potentially toxic flame retardants in breast milk samples from U.S. mothers, including those that had been previously banned, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

• District of Columbia: The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) this week has named six nurses as its 2023 "Living Legends." The honorees include Janice Brewington, the National League for Nursing's chief program officer and director of its Center for Transformational Research; Pamela Cipriano, who is a former president of the International Council of Nurses and a professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing; Martha Curley, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the endowed chair in pediatric nursing science at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Mary O'Neil Mundinger, a professor and dean emeritus at the Columbia University School of Nursing; Madeline Naegle, a professor emeritus at New York University's Rory Meyers College of Nursing; and Adeline Nyamathi, a distinguished professor and founding dean emeritus of the University of California, Irvine's Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. The recipients will be honored at AAN's 50th anniversary ceremony in October. (Hollowell, Becker's Clinical Leadership, 8/23)
• Pennsylvania: Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and his administration began implementing the Nurse Licensure Compact, which allows nurses with multistate licenses to practice in other states. "Allowing nurses who have a compact license from another state to start work without unnecessary bureaucratic hoops to jump through is a great first step," said Pennsylvania State Sen. Lisa Boscola, who sponsored the state bill. "I will continue to work to ensure this compact is fully implemented in Pennsylvania because our nurses deserve the full benefits of being a compact state." Starting Sept. 5, RNs and licensed practical nurses who have a multistate license through the Nurse Licensure Compact will be able to practice in Pennsylvania. (Hollowell, Becker's Clinical Leadership, 8/23; Pennsylvania government news release, 8/22)
• Washington: According to a new study published in Environmental Pollution, toxic compounds from flame retardants, including those that have been phased out of use, were found in breast milk samples from U.S. mothers. In the early 2000s, a common flame retardant called polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) was found in breast milk samples and linked to certain health risks. Research suggests that exposure to PBDEs in utero and infancy could impact hormones in the body and lead to developmental issues. The Environmental Protection Agency banned PBDEs from commercial use in 2009, and manufacturers agreed to phase out most uses of PBDEs by the end of 2013. However, even with this ban in place, PBDEs continue to be found in the human body. In the study, researchers analyzed breast milk from 50 mothers in the Seattle area and found a total of 25 flame retardants in the sample. Of these compounds, 16 were chemicals that replaced PBDEs, and nine were phased-out PBDEs. Among the replacement chemicals, 88% were bromophenols, which have a similar structure to PBDES and could potentially affect thyroid function. According to researchers, it's still too soon to tell whether bromophenols will have a negative impact on people's health, and more research is needed. "If you regulate individual chemicals, what ends up happening is that there are what have been called 'regrettable substitutes' — substitutes that are put into the marker that they think are safer, but then we find that they're just as pervasive and may have just the same amount of toxicity," said Sheela Sathyanarayana, one of the study's authors and a professor of pediatrics and environmental health at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Research Institute. (Roldan, "Shots," NPR, 8/24)