Washington State poised to ban flame retardant

16 January 2007 23:54  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--Washington State is poised to enact the first US ban of flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) as a potential health risk, legislative sources in the state capital, Olympia, said on Tuesday.

 

A bill sponsored by state Representative Ross Hunter (Democrat) already has 53 cosponsors, more than enough to ensure passage in the state’s 98-member House of Representatives.

 

The measure is said to have a reasonable chance of passage in the state Senate because the bill has won new support from the state’s association of fire chiefs. 

 

Firefighters in the state had opposed Hunter’s earlier attempts in 2005 and 2006 to move the legislation forward, arguing that banning an effective flame retardant would create more risks to health and environment than it would eliminate.

 

Hunter won support of firefighters this year by revising the bill, the sources said. While earlier versions called for an outright ban of PBDEs, the new measure would phase in the ban beginning in 2008 and running through 2011.

 

In addition, the new version would not impose a PBDE ban for any specific application unless a fire safety committee - to be composed of representatives from five state-wide firefighter organisations - rules that an alternative and equally viable flame retardant is available on a cost-effective basis.

 

The bill is opposed by flame retardant manufacturers who argue that there is no scientific proof that the one PBDE still in general use - known as deca-PBDE - is harmful to humans.  Environmentalists argue in turn that new research indicates deca-PBDE can degrade into the more toxic penta-PBDEs and octa-PBDEs, which are no longer used in the US.

 

No floor votes have been scheduled on the measure in either the House or Senate, although the bill, HB-1024, was approved last week by the House Select Committee on Environmental Health.

By: Joe Kamalick
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