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In Brief: California’s Furniture Flammability Standard Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117), has led to high levels of toxic or untested chemical flame retardants in furniture and baby products since 1975. SB 147 would instruct the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (BEARHFTI) to develop an alternative flammability standard that is fire safe and can be met without the use of flame retardants.

FIRE SAFETY TB 117 has no proven fire safety benefit. There is no impartial data to show that adding flame retardants to California furniture and baby products has decreased fires or fire deaths. Fires are in fact more dangerous in the presence of these chemicals.  The flame retardants burn after a few seconds and increase the carbon monoxide, smoke, and soot, which are the major cause of fire deaths.

HEALTH Scientific and peer-reviewed data show that exposure to flame retardants is associated with decreased  IQ, cancer, cryptorchidism (undescended testicles), endocrine and thyroid disruption, reduced fertility, and other adverse human health conditions.

CHOICE SB 147 would allow consumers the choice of purchasing furniture and baby products that are fire safe and do not contain toxic chemicals. Current regulations do not allow consumers this basic choice.

Current TB 117 Standard Has Not Protected Californians From Fires

A 60% decrease in fire deaths in both California and the United States as a whole since 1980 parallels the decrease in per capita cigarette consumption, increased enforcement of improved building, fire, and electrical codes; and the increased use of smoke detectors and sprinklers.

Fires Are More Dangerous With Flame Retardants

While flame retardants may reduce the time for a material to ignite by a few seconds, they increase the carbon monoxide, toxic gases, smoke and soot produced once the fire begins, threatening both fire victims and firefighters.

Most fire deaths and most fire injuries result from inhalation of these gases and soot.  When the flame retardants themselves eventually burn, they can produce highly toxic, bioaccumulative, and persistent dioxins and furans.

We Need Real Solutions in Fire Safety

Effective fire safety strategies include:

• decreased smoking
• fire-safe cigarettes
• increased use of sprinklers and smoke detectors
• building code enforcement

(National Fire Protection Association)

Health

Flame retardant levels in California children aged 2-5 years are similar to levels in occupationally exposed adults in the foam industry.

Children, Californians at Greatest Risk

Flame retardants pose a serious hazard to pregnant women and young children who are the most vulnerable to endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, mutagens, and neurological and reproductive toxins.

Flame retardants escape from products into dust and are ingested by humans and animals. Levels of these chemicals have increased 40-fold in human breast milk since the 1970s.¹

Peer-Reviewed Animal and Human Studies
find associations between flame retardants and:

• decreased IQ in children²
• learning disabilities such as attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity³
• cancer^{4, 5}
• cryptorchidism (undescended testicles)⁶
• decreased sperm quality⁷
• increased time to pregnancy⁸
• endocrine and thyroid disruption ^{9, 10}and other health conditions.

Firefighters and Increased Cancer

Consumer Choice Fire Protection Act Will:

• Reduce exposure to toxics without compromising fire safety;
• Alert consumers to the presence of fire retardants in baby products and furniture;
• Reduce workplace exposure to toxic chemicals for firefighters and industry workers;
• Provide industry with incentives to create affordable and less toxic products.

For more information contact Ana Mascareñas, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, [email protected] (323) 743-3241