In a newly released study, doctors say the idea of preserving kids’ clothing in mothballs should be mothballed. An ingredient that had been widely used in the pest repellent has been found to cause neurological damage, and sometimes death, in infants.

The Chicago Tribune reports pediatricians from Australia and New Zealand are calling for a ban on on naphthalene, which is used in some varieties of mothballs. In the United States, mothballs come packaged with labels that warn against using them to pack kids’ clothes.

Wikipedia says naphthalene is rarely used in today’s mothballs due to its flammability, often replaced with 1,4-dichlorobenzene. OSHA regulations limit the amount of 1,4-dichlorobenzene that can be found in the air at workplaces, and the chemical has caused kidney tumors in animals when placed in their drinking water.

If you’ve got clothes packed away, what have you done to preserve them?

Mothballs should be put away forever, say doctors Down Under [Chicago Tribune]

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