Fast Company: “If you have a black spatula in your kitchen, or other black plastic items around your house like takeout containers or children’s toys, they could contain high levels of toxic flame retardants.  Those chemicals—which have been linked to cancer, neurological damage, and hormone disruption—may be a result of recycling contamination, specifically from electronics, the authors of a recent study theorize. Scientists from Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam tested a range of household items made of black plastic and sold in the U.S., and found toxic flame retardants in many of them. The highest levels were found in a spatula, a sushi tray, and a beaded necklace. The results were published in the journal Chemosphere in early October.  “These cancer-causing chemicals shouldn’t be used to begin with, but with recycling, they are entering our environment and our homes in more ways than one,” Megan Liu, study coauthor and science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future, said in a statement. “The high levels we found are concerning.”