Tag Archives: AB 706

California

A Clever Smokescreen on Flame Retardants and AB 706

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(From the comments: Mom’s Rising is fighting for passage of AB 706. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

So, I get this flyer (well, two actually) from some group that calls itself “Californians for Fire Safety.” Hmm, I say to myself, I wonder who they are, and why they mailed me this glossy flyer? The flyer opposes those nefarious boogymen, “Sacramento politicians” trying to pass AB 706, which:

will ban material used to make flame retardant products that help to prevent fires – and keep our homes and families safe

Immediately I get curious. What materials are these? Why would they be proposed for banning? What chemicals in particular are in question? Who makes them? Who is for this bill, and who is against? Who is funding this flyer?

I look again at the flyer, and get nothing.

So i start to get more curious. This flyer pushes two of my buttons right off the bat:

1. it doesn’t identify who is backing it, to the point of using images of firefighters but not featuring a firefighter endorsement.

2. Its images are emotional, featuring a little girl saved from a fire and a burning bed. Its intent is clearly to trigger my parental feelings of protection, but offers nothing specific to latch on to.

So i do  a bit of googling.

Upon searching the Californians for Fire Safety website, it turns out that they are founded by:

Albemarle Corp., Chemtura Corp., and IC-Ltd Industrial Products

Hmm.

Albemarle makes flame retardants. Chemtura makes flame retardants. I can’t find any web presence for IC-Ltf Industrial Products, but at this point I would be willing to bet that they make flame retardants.

I look up AB 706, and find out that it was introduced by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). OK, so what does AB 706 actually ban?

Starting January 1, 2010, AB 706 would require (1) all seating,  bedding, and furniture products comply with specified requirements, including that they do not contain brominated fire retardants (BFRs) or chlorinated fire retardants (CFRs), as defined; (2) the bureau to modify its existing standards regarding specified bedding products sold or offered for sale in California to prohibit the use of BFRs and CFRs, among other things; (3) OEHHA to review, in a manner prescribed in the bill, human, animal, or environmental health risk assessments of a component or chemical used to meet fire retardant standards set by the bureau if specified conditions are met; and (4) OEHHA to report to the bureau of its conclusions and recommendations.

So why would anyone want to ban brominated or chlorinated fire retardants?

Well, for starters because organochlorides are pretty toxic chemicals, and tend to linger both in the environment and human bodies for a long time. DDT and dioxin were both in this family of chemicals. From the text of the bill itself:

(d)  Some  fire retardants migrate in air, soil, or water, and accumulate in people’s bodies and the
environment. For example, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are a subcategory of BFRs, have increased more than forty-fold in human breast milk in America since the  1970s. Women in North America on average have 10 times the levels of women in Europe or Asia. PBDEs have  the potential to disrupt thyroid hormone balance and contribute to a variety of developmental deficits, including low intelligence and learning disabilities. PBDEs are structurally similar to dioxin, furans, and polybrominated biphenyls which are known to cause cancer.

(e)  According to an American Public Health Association Consensus Resolution, virtually all organochlorides that have been
studied exhibit one or more serious toxic effects, including endocrine dysfunction, developmental impairment, birth defects,
reproductive dysfunction, immunosuppression, and cancer, often at extremely low doses. Organobromides are known to exhibit similar effects, and the American Public Health Association has resolved that the organobromides known as PBDEs should be phased out of all products.

[snip]

(h)  According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infants and children are particularly prone to absorb BFRs and CFRs through direct physical or oral contact with these compounds in furniture, inhalation of furniture dust containing BFRs and CFRs, and via ingestion of these substances from their mothers’ milk and from their diets.

(i)  Rates of pediatric health problems, such as leukemia and brain cancer in children, testicular cancer in adolescents, birth defects, and neurodevelopmental disorders, including, but not limited to, dyslexia, mental retardation, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, are steadily rising. 

(j) Over the last 30 years, there have been hundreds of scientific journal articles and reviews citing these and other negative health impacts resulting from exposure to brominated  and chlorinated fire retardants.

Well, that certainly puts that picture of the smiling baby girl on their glossy literature in a somewhat different light, now doesn’t it?

And then in addition, when I go back to check out the original website for the Albemarle Corp., Chemtura Corp., and IC-Ltd Industrial Products “Californians for Fire Safety’s” side of things, it admits that firefighters have come out in support of the bill, because of concerns about flame retardant-related chemicals leading to higher rates of cancer in firefighters, but then assure them that:

Numerous studies document that the significant risks to firefighters come mainly from the fire itself, and then from smoke containing toxic byproducts, principally carbon monoxide and cancer-causing polyaromatic hydrocarbons. No studies show or suggest that the presence of flame retardants in a fire situation increases risk to firefighters.

Hmm. Someone’s lying here, and my guess is that it’s the people with a financial stake in selling these chemicals.

From what I can gather, this whole mailing campaign is basically a couple of chemical corporations who produce a chemical toxic to children in particular, using the image of a child to fight a bill that would restrict the sale of said chemical.

And there you have it. When someone stuffs your mailbox with emotional arguments, images of children in danger and vague but pleasant sounding organizations, take a step back and be a bit skeptical.

originally at surf putah

Uncategorized

LA Times on AB 706: Must Pass Bill

Today’s LA Times editorial on six “must pass” bills:

AB 706, by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), to modify a law that requires upholstery to include flame-retardant chemicals. The problem is that the chemicals are toxic; the bill would change standards to bar use of those substances. This cost-neutral bill should be easy to pass, but it’s stuck in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It’s technically too late to move it to the floor, but the proposal is important enough for a rule waiver or one of the other maneuvers that lawmakers use all the time.

After the flip, check out the new online campaign for this “must pass” legislation, a Spoof movie trailer calls on Governor Schwarzenegger to save the nation from toxic chemicals.

Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS) and Friends of the Earth, co-sponsors of AB 706 (Leno, D-San Francisco),  a California bill that would ban the most toxic fire retardants for use in furniture and bedding, today released a movie trailer titled "Attack of the Killer Couch" to draw attention to the importance of the legislation.

The minute-long animation uses humor to show that some fire retardant chemicals cause endocrine disruption, neurological and reproductive problems, cancer, and changes in DNA. The movie also alludes to the recent study by scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showing a link between fire retardants in furniture and increased rates of hyperthyroid disease in cats.

"Every parent wants their children to be safe," said Mary Brune, co-founder of Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS), "Preventing fires is essential, but there are smarter ways to do it that don't involve exposing our families, pets, and fire fighters to toxic chemicals."

Rising cancer rates among fire fighters prompted bill sponsors to rename AB 706 after Crystal Golden-Jefferson, a Los Angeles paramedic and fire fighter who died of work-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

In a support letter to the bill's author, Assemblyman Mark Leno, Brian K. Rice, President of Sacramento Area Fire Fighters, local 522 said, "not only will the passage of this bill improve the health and safety of firefighters, it will also improve the safety of those we are sworn to protect."

A companion site, www.killercouch.com, provides details about the bill, links to scientific reports and news articles, as well as quotes from supporters in the fire community.

A representative of Friends of the Earth, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said that if AB 706 were to become law, it would be one of the first examples of "green chemistry" legislation in the country.

"California's outdated furniture standard has become the de facto standard in the nation," said Russell Long of Friends of the Earth. "Governor Schwarzenegger has an opportunity to be a hero and protect the health of millions of Americans from toxic fire retardant chemicals by signing AB 706 into law."

AB 706 is awaiting approval from the Senate appropriations committee before it is allowed to go to the senate floor for a vote.

Uncategorized

AB 706: Crystal Jefferson Bill

(As is our practice for electeds and candidates, bumped. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

James and Dolores Golden joined Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) today to announce that AB 706, a bill prohibiting the use of brominated and chlorinated fire retardants in furniture, would be named in honor of their daughter, Crystal Golden-Jefferson, a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department who died from workplace-related non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Leno explained how the bill, which would modify state furniture standards to deliver equivalent fire safety without the use of toxic brominated and chlorinated chemicals, directly impacts the hundreds of firefighters across the state who are suffering from workplace related cancers.  “When brominated fire retardants in furniture burn, they convert to some of the most carcinogenic substances known to science, including dioxins. Firefighters are exposed through soot in contact with the skin and through smoke inhalation,” he said.  “Today, as we honor Crystal Golden-Jefferson, a dedicated paramedic firefighter and single mother whose life was cut short from workplace-related non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer caused by dioxin exposures, we also honor the lives of all firefighters who risk their lives for us.”

In November 2006 the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine published a meta-analysis of 32 cancer studies and determined that firefighters have an elevated risk of four types of cancers, including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.  Also, eight other cancers were found to have a likely association with fighting fires. The study states that the toxic combustion byproducts found in soot and smoke are the likely source of elevated cancer risk. Other studies show that brominated fire retardants quickly convert to dioxin and furans when burned.

“Crystal always put the needs of others before her own in all aspects of her life,” said Dolores Golden, Crystal Golden-Jefferson’s mother.  “From an early age, her dream was to be a fire fighter and help save lives.  She lived her dream for nineteen years as a firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Crystal loved being a mom and she cherished her beautiful daughter.  We always worried that the dangers of her job might take her from us, but we never thought it would be cancer.  Every firefighter should know that soot and smoke from burning couches and chairs pose a great hazard to their health.  Firefighters must do everything they can to keep the soot off their skin and use their respirator.”

In the last eight to ten years, the San Francisco Fire Department has seen more than 250 cancers among its active duty and retired firefighters, and 40 have died.

“As firefighters, the cancer risks posed by toxic exposures are every bit as real to us as the risks we face fighting fires,” said Sean Caywood, a Captain with the Stockton Firefighters Local 456. “This legislation protects fire safety standards as it reduces the exposure of firefighters … and those we protect …  to dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals.”

AB 706 is currently pending passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, California

California’s standard is poisoning the whole nation, one sofa at a time.

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(Wow, 3 electeds in one day. Cool! (bumped) – promoted by Lucas O’Connor)

Soon the decision of whether California will continue to poison our kids and the rest of the nation will be made by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thus far, state agencies have been directed from the top to oppose AB 706. The question for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is, how loudly must our babies cry before toxic, cancer-causing, endocrine-disrupting chemicals are removed from our furniture?

If your sofa was purchased in California after 1975, chances are its interior foam and cushions contain either brominated or chlorinated fire retardants. These toxic chemicals have been shown to cause cancer, reproductive problems, learning disabilities, and thyroid disease in laboratory animals and house cats. At the same time, these chemicals are climbing the food chain in increasing concentrations and are found in fish, harbor seals in San Francisco Bay, polar bears, bird eggs, and the animal at the very top of the food chain – breast-fed human babies.

A little-known California regulation known as Technical Bulletin 117 requires that the polyurethane foam in furniture withstand an open flame for 12 seconds without catching fire. This 30-year-old regulation is well intended, and upholstered furniture fires are a serious concern. However, since 1975 no other jurisdiction in the world has followed California’s lead, and other states have achieved similar or greater reductions in fire-related deaths without this standard.

Because brominated and chlorinated fire retardants don’t react chemically with foam, their molecules have a tendency to attach to dust particles in furniture. Each time someone sits on a sofa cushion, the dust particles escape into the air and can be inhaled or settle on the floor, where toddlers and house cats live and play.

These fire-retardant molecules mimic thyroid hormone, which in pregnant women regulates the sex and brain development of the unborn child. This mimicking is called endocrine disruption, and brominated and chlorinated fire retardants in even infinitesimal amounts can cause harm to human and animal health through this process.

Many national furniture manufacturers distribute only California-compliant furniture, which means that up to 10 percent by weight of foam cushions are composed of toxic chemicals. California’s standard is poisoning the whole nation, one sofa at a time.

The good news is that there are safer chemical and construction-based alternatives already in the marketplace that can provide an equivalent level of fire safety without the use of brominated and chlorinated fire retardants. The institutional-furniture industry and the mattress industry already comply with tough fire standards and do so without the use of these toxic chemicals.

Residential-furniture manufacturers could do so as well, except that state law and TB 117 prevent it. That’s why I have authored Assembly Bill 706, which would modify our outdated foam test. A modern residential-furniture standard, such as the one developed in California for mattresses, should address how the various components of furniture can together achieve equal or better fire safety without using the most toxic fire retardants.

AB 706 would establish a comprehensive process for weighing the issues of fire safety and chemical exposures. It would rightly rest the responsibility for assessing toxicity with state toxicologists, require the fire-retardant industry to prove that its products are safe, and leave the final decision on whether to prohibit a particular chemical to the state’s fire-safety scientists.