Flame Retardants

For years, manufacturers have added chemicals to plastics and fabrics so they won't catch on fire or burn easily when exposed to flame or high heat. Some of the more widely used of these additives are polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. House Bill 4699 has been introduced in Michigan to phase out deca-BDE in residential furniture, mattresses, TVs, and computers.

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IN THIS SECTION

Are Toxic Flame-Retardants the Next PCBs?

Toxic Levels are Rising

Health Impacts

Fire Fighter Organizations Support Phasing Out PBDEs

Safer Alternatives Are Widely Used

Bans Gaining Momentum

Michigan Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group Recommendations

Michigan Can Restrict deca-BDE

Michigan Organizations Supporting Restrictions on deca-BDE

Additional Resources

Protect Children, Fire Fighters and the Great Lakes

Limit Toxic Flame-Retardants

Fighting fires does not have to have toxic consequences. PBDEs, flame-retardants that are rapidly accumulating in our bodies and the Great Lakes, have been found to be toxic to animals and may threaten our own health. Safe, affordable alternatives are available.

ARE TOXIC FLAME-RETARDANTS THE NEXT PCBs?

PBDEs – polybrominated diphenyl ethers, commonly used as flame-retardants – are added to textiles, foam products, and plastics to make them difficult to burn. There are three commercial forms of PBDEs: penta-BDE, octa-BDE, and deca-BDE. Deca-BDE is often added to drapes, carpets, furniture upholstery, and the plastic casings of electronics.

In 2004, the Michigan Legislature banned manufacturing, processing and distribution of materials containing more than 0.1% penta-BDE and octa-BDE. However, under certain circumstances, deca can break down into more toxic forms of PBDEs, including the banned octa-BDE.

Deca continues to be used heavily in the United States. Over 40% of all deca produced worldwide is used in North America.

PBDEs are structurally very similar to PCBs, chemicals once favored by industry but ultimately banned in the 1970s because of their high toxicity. Like PCBs, PBDEs are extremely persistent in the environment and can accumulate in the fatty tissues of living organisms.

TOXIC LEVELS ARE RISING

PBDE levels “in human tissues in North America have increased significantly over time, and are much higher compared to levels in Europe or Japan.”

Limited studies indicate that children accumulate higher levels of PBDEs than adults.

Lake Michigan salmon were found to contain PBDEs at levels above 100 parts per billion, “one of the world’s highest concentrations for salmon in open water.” PBDE levels in Great Lakes walleye and lake trout rose exponentially from 1980 to 2000, doubling every 3-4 years.

Workers who recycle, repair, and maintain computers have very high levels of PBDEs.

In the U.S., PBDEs have been found in the breast milk of women at levels 10 to 100 times higher than those found in Europe.

HEALTH IMPACTS

Learning and Memory: Exposure to deca-BDE in mice and rats during brain development “can give rise to irreversible changes in adult brain function.”

Reproductive: Rats exposed to PBDEs experienced a delayed onset of puberty and reproductive development.

Cancer: Rodents who ate deca-BDE developed liver tumors, causing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to classify deca as a “possible human carcinogen.”

Thyroid: PBDEs can disrupt homeostatic thyroid levels in mice. Decreased concentrations of the thyroid hormone can lead to decreased IQ in offspring.

FIRE FIGHTER ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT PHASING OUT PBDEs

The Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs supports phasing out PBDEs because they “have been identified as having adverse physiological and development impacts on humans”, “there are readily available substitute products that do not exhibit these effects”, and “when PBDE compounds are exposed to fire they burn and release dense fumes and a highly corrosive gas know as hydrogen bromide which expose firefighters to additional chemical hazards”. Read the MAFC resolution.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) supports banning brominated flame retardants as "a step in the right direction for improving the health and safety of our fire fighters." IAFF states: "Many studies involving fire fighters exposed to these and other toxic gases during active fire fighting, overhaul, and long term exposure from these chemicals penetrating gear, have found that fire fighters have a much greater risk of contracting cancer, heart and lung disease, and other debilitating diseases. While we support the concept of flame retardant chemicals, there are alternatives that do not contain bromine or chlorine and are much safer for fire fighters than PBDEs." Read the IAFF letter.

SAFER ALTERNATIVES ARE WIDELY USED

Alternatives to Deca-BDE are being widely used by industries in every category covered by HB 4699. Companies are meeting fire safety standards while not using deca-BDE by redesigning products, or by using alternative flame retardants.

Companies that DO NOT USE DECA-BDE:

TVs/Computers

Apple
Dell
Toshiba
Sony
Samsung
Sharp
Philips
Hewlett Packard
Panasonic
LG Electronics
Lenovo

(Source: Clean Production Action, Progress Towards PVC and BFR Elimination by Leading Electronic Manufacturers Selling Products in the US, February 2008.)

Mattresses

THESE ARE 14 OF THE TOP 15 BEDDING MANUFACTURERS IN THE U.S. MARKET:

Sealy
Simmons
Serta
Spring Air*
Tempur-Pedic
Select Comfort
King Koil
Therapedic*
Kingsdown
Englander
International Bedding Corp
Restonic
Corsicana
Lady Americana

*none applied at assembly factory

(Source: Mattresses and Deca-BDE, Washington Department of Ecology, September 12, 2006.)

Furniture

La-Z-Boy
Herman Miller
Steelcase
IKEA

Note: Many furniture manufacturers do not disclose deca content.

(Source: Clean Production Action for IKEA; Personal Communications for La-Z-Boy, Herman Miller & Steelcase.)

Download this business information as a fact sheet (pdf).
Note: fact sheet was created by MNCEH and includes all references.

BANS GAINING MOMENTUM

Michigan and nine other states already regulate the use of penta-BDE and octa-BDE. Industries voluntarily withdrew the manufacture of penta-BDE by 2005 because of evidence that the chemical may be toxic and traces were found in breast milk.

Washington State and Maine recently banned deca for many uses. Learn more (pdf).

The Michigan Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group recommends "legislation banning Deca-BDE...contingent on the availability of a safe alternative."

MICHIGAN INTERDEPARTMENTAL TOXICS STEERING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS

In the summer of 2008, the State's Interdepartmental Toxics Steering Group issued a long-awaited final report on PBDEs. The report recommends: "a legislative ban on Deca-BDE contingent on the availability of a safe alternative."

Download statements (pdf) excerpted from “Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers: A Scientific Review with Risk Characterization and Recommendations.

The full report is available online at:
www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-tox-PBDEBackground_Paper-5-08_243976_7.pdf (pdf)

MICHIGAN LEGISLATORS CAN PROTECT CHILDREN,
FIREFIGHTERS AND OUR GREAT LAKES FROM DECA-BDE!

Ask your state representative to support HB 4699 to phase

out deca-BDE in mattresses and residential furniture

by 2010 and in televisions and computers by 2012.