1. CHEMICALS:
State efforts to regulate flame retardants flounder
after initial push
Kate Jacobs, E&E reporter
Published: Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Bills to regulate flame retardants permeated legislative agendas at
the state level this year, but as sessions wind down, the measures
that remain are mostly watered-down with little potential for broad
impact.
Measures targeting flame-retardant chemicals were introduced in 14
states this session. But so far, only one state -- Maryland -- has
passed a flame-retardant ban in both houses.
If signed by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Maryland bill would
prohibit the sale or import of certain products containing Tris(2-
chloroethyl) phosphate, known as TCEP, from items intended for
children under age 3.
"Looking at vote counts over time, across all of the bills that we've
been tracking, overwhelming majorities support them," said Sarah
Doll, the national director of Safer States, a network of environmental
health groups pushing for action at the state level. "But depending on
who has control of the Legislature, [that] controls whether or not [the
bills] actually get up and heard."
Upholstered furniture manufacturers began dousing furniture with the
chemicals in the 1970s, when California implemented its stringent
open-flame standard. The controversial chemicals now are found in
upholstered furniture, childrens' nap pads, car seats, nursing pillows
and other common household products.
People inhale the substances when they leach from products and
settle in dust. Studies have linked some flame-retardant chemicals to
certain cancers and neurological and developmental health problems.
Earlier this year, California announced plans to overhaul its open-
flame standard. The proposal outlines a smolder standard.

2. Smoldering items are the most common cause of furniture fires. The
test would enable manufacturers to meet the standard without using
flame-retardant chemicals.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission also is considering an
upholstered furniture flammability standard for residential furniture
that would allow manufacturers to comply by using cover material that
passes a smoldering ignition resistance test or an interior fire barrier
that meets both smoldering and open-flame tests.
But the chemicals industry says flame retardants play an important
role in fire safety by providing people with additional escape time. The
industry has said that many of the chemicals undergo testing by
agencies abroad, and it is pushing for federal-level regulations rather
than a patchwork of laws that vary from state to state.
"There's this continual assumption that the federal government is not
really doing anything, and I think all you need to do is look at the
activity that's going on in EPA to understand that that's not true," said
American Chemistry Council spokesman Scott Jensen, referring to
U.S. EPA's plan to subject 20 flame-retardant chemicals to health risk
assessments (E&ENews PM, March 27).
Still, states have stepped in to fill what they say is a void in federal
chemical regulation, given that the nation's primary chemical statute,
the Toxic Substances Control Act, has not received a significant
update since its inception in 1976.
"The states will continue to act because this is a problem, and
citizens are demanding a response," Doll said. "Most of the policy is
still alive at this point, she said. "But we're getting down to the wire for
some."
Doll pointed to Washington state, which initially had one of the
strongest state-level regulatory proposals (E&ENews PM, March 7).
The legislation would prohibit TCEP and TDCPP -- or Tri(2,3-
dichloropropyl) phosphate, which is also known as chlorinated Tris --
in products intended for young children. Manufacturers removed
chlorinated Tris from children's pajamas in the 1970s after it was
linked to cancer, but it has been used widely in other products.

3. Notably, the Washington state measure also contains a provision to
help ensure that manufacturers replace these chemicals with safer
alternatives. But the state Senate passed a heavily stripped-down
version of the language.
The state's regular legislative session has ended, but Gov. Jay Inslee
(D) has called legislators back for a special session on May 13 to
discuss budget issues. And observers say lawmakers could use the
time to discuss additional measures like the flame-retardant proposal.
"We are going to continue to work toward another compromise," the
bill's sponsor, state Sen. Sharon Nelson (D), told Greenwire after the
Senate version passed.
Measures in Connecticut and Missouri also died this session, and
Nevada's chemical bill was stripped of all provisions that dealt with
flame-retardant bans.
Flame-retardant language in Illinois also died. Advocates there had
high hopes for action after the Chicago Tribune last year printed an
exposé that uncovered deceptive lobbying tactics by three major
flame-retardant manufacturers in order to achieve their regulatory
goals. The manufacturers now advocate through the North American
Flame Retardant Alliance under the umbrella of the ACC (Greenwire,
Aug. 31, 2012).
"We continue to be vigorously involved at the state level in a wide
array of advocacy issues," said ACC spokeswoman Kathryn St. John.
The flame retardant issue did, however, see a little more action in
other states.
Vermont's state Senate unanimously passed a measure that would
prohibit chlorinated Tris and TCEP in most children's products and
upholstered home furniture (Greenwire, April 2). The legislation is
now pending in the state House, which will wrap up its legislative
session soon.
New York previously approved a ban on TCEP, and lawmakers there
this year are pushing to expand the law to include TDCPP. Observers
anticipate that the single-line proposal will meet little resistance.

4. Bills in Massachusetts, Maine and North Carolina are also said to
have a strong shot at passing before the end of the states' current
sessions.
And Oregon's broad chemicals bill is caught up in the Ways and
Means Committee, pending release of a revenue forecast due out in
mid-May.
Advocates pushing for state measures that address flame retardants
say they're optimistic this year's action on the issue could be a
harbinger of broader changes.
"I feel very good about the states," said Andy Igrejas, national
campaign director for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. "They are
doing it in modest ways and starting to share info and take bigger
bites and broader laws."