Washington State Establishes Flame Retardant Review Process

Initiates process to search for “alternative” to proven flame retardant known as Deca

Washington, D.C. – The State of Washington today established a formal, three-step process for identifying and approving “alternative” flame retardants that could come into use in Washington.

“As several state Senators and Representatives said repeatedly during the legislative process, this is not a ban, but a bill that establishes a process under which three separate entities have to identify, evaluate and approve any ‘alternative’ flame retardant that is proposed to replace Deca in Washington,” said Dr. Michael Spiegelstein, chairman of the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF), an industry trade association.

Under the bill, the Departments of Ecology and Health, as well as a newly-created fire safety committee, would have to determine that any proposed alternative flame retardant is “safer and technically feasible” as a replacement for the well-known Deca product, which is primarily used in plastics and some commercial textiles to provide flame resistance. The use of Deca in certain consumer products would not be prohibited unless and until such an alternative is approved.

The bill does place a prohibition on the use of Deca in mattresses beginning Jan 1, 2008, but since Deca is not actually used in residential mattresses, that prohibition has no practical impact.

“It is unfortunate that the Governor signed this legislation, since Deca is highly effective and the most studied flame retardant on the market, and we remain concerned that the review process is somewhat vague and ill-defined,” Spiegelstein said. “But we will nonetheless continue our efforts in Washington to ensure that this safe, life-saving product is evaluated fairly and to make sure the state agencies follow the process faithfully, openly and objectively.”

Noting that the European Union undertook a 10-year-long risk assessment of Deca and then exempted it from further regulation, Spiegelstein said he is confident that a fair and objective analysis of Deca and proposed alternatives will show that Deca is an effective product that is safe for use.

The difficulty of properly evaluating and approving alternative flame retardants was highlighted recently when the Washington Department of Ecology and several local environmental organizations began openly endorsing the substance melamine as a “safer” replacement for Deca, only to have it revealed a short time later that melamine is the contaminant in pet food that led to numerous pet deaths across the country.

“The use of safe, effective flame retardants saves many lives every year by preventing or slowing down fires,” Spiegelstein said. “The real risk in Washington is that the substitution of one product for another is not as simple as some people think – any substance used as an alternative to Deca will carry its own risks, and we may not even be aware just what those risks are because no alternative has been studied as extensively as Deca.”

Spiegelstein also noted with irony that the legislation passed in Washington contains so many exemptions and loopholes for current Deca applications that, in practice, it would only address a small portion of actual Deca use in the state.

“This legislation was carefully crafted to eliminate opposition by providing exemptions to every major user of the product in the state,” he noted. “It should be clear to the people of Washington that this bill is much more about achieving a political victory than about good science and ensuring fire safety.”




Sam Xu
Sales Engineer

DONGGUAN JIEFU FLAME-RETARDED MATERIALS CO.,LTD
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