I found out that neither the memory nor the latex foam I purchased have PBDE flame retardant ini them. However, the rep at the latex foam factory that I talked to said that all latex smells like what it is -- rubber -- and that cannot be helped. He suggested spraying it with Fabreze (air freshener) and that this sometimes helps. Other people have recently told me that some folks are simply allergic to latex even if they don't touch it directly (although I had read that so-called latex allergies are usually an allergy not to the latex but to the powder that is put on items such as latex gloves to keep them from getting stuck together or to help them slide onto the hand). So what am I reacting to?
I still think I should not have to eat the $1500 for the mattress since they said at the Foam Creations store that their mattresses do not have a permanent smell. And I am not interesting in just masking the smell with another chemical. I will probably sell the mattress and perhaps the entire Cal King bed. It's too big for me anyway.