Asm. Mark Leno to Introduce Legislation to Ban Harmful Fire Retardants

SACRAMENTO, CA— Flanked by researchers, burn specialists, firefighters, and public health and environmental advocates, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) announced that he has introduced Assembly Bill 706, which will ban the use of all brominated and chlorinated fire retardants in upholstered furniture as well as bedding products such as pillows, comforters, and mattresses.

“California regulations shouldn’t result in kids sleeping on pillows or playing on furniture filled with toxic chemicals that could cause long-term damage to their health,” said Assemblyman Mark Leno, referring to existing and new potential regulations being developed by the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation. “The types of chemicals being used today have been linked to cancer, birth defects and reproductive difficulties. This bill creates a smarter and improved fire-safety standard for furniture while protecting our kids, workers, and others from potentially dangerous exposure to toxic chemicals.”

Biophysical chemist Arlene Blum published articles in Science magazine in the 1970’s that contributed to the ban of two major flame retardants used in children’s sleepwear— brominated and chlorinated Tris. “I am very concerned that the same chlorinated Tris that was banned from children’s pajamas thirty years ago is being used today in the foam inside furniture sold in California,” Blum said. “A growing body of research shows these flame retardants have potentially serious and far reaching adverse health effects.”

Russell Long, Vice-President of Bluewater Network, and co-sponsor of the legislation added, “Every year, millions of pounds of toxic flame retardants are leaching into our soil and drinking water, and accumulating in our homes and our bodies. They’ve been found in the blood of virtually every Californian who’s been tested. It’s time to end this dangerous contamination with smarter regulation.”

Halogenated chemicals such as brominated and chlorinated fire retardants are pervasive and persistent in the environment, virtually impossible for individuals to avoid exposure to, and increasingly present in humans. Fire retardants such as PBDEs are 40 times greater in U.S. womens’ breast milk than they were in the 1970s. Mothers pass these chemicals on to their children during nursing.

California was the first state in the nation to ban pentaBDE and octaBDE in 2003 and 2004. Other states followed suit, and Maine and Washington State are expected to ban decaBDE this year. However, regulating one chemical at a time cannot sufficiently protect human health over the long term.

The California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation is responsible for ensuring the fire safety of furniture and bedding; however, they do not currently regulate the use of chemicals in these products. Much of the furniture sold in California contains brominated or chlorinated chemicals in amounts up to ten percent of the weight of the foam in the furniture. Under Leno’s proposal, the Bureau will be authorized to review health and safety data to ensure that flame retardant chemicals used in California furniture do not pose a risk to human health or the environment.

“Studies have shown that infants and toddlers have much higher levels of these chemicals than the rest of us,” said Mary Brune, co-founder of Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS), a co-sponsor of the legislation. “Children crawl on floors and touch window sills where they are exposed to toxic fire retardants through household dust. We know that exposure to these chemicals can cause developmental, behavioral, reproductive harm. Exposing children to such a risk, when safer alternatives are available, is simply unacceptable. We must stop the cycle of replacing one toxin with another and ban the whole class from our furniture and bedding.”

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