SCHUMER: NEW STUDY SHOWS, FLAME-RETARDANTS IN FURNITURE AND EVERYDAY ITEMS LIKE CHILDREN’S TOYS, PAJAMAS & PILLOWS ARE HIGHLY TOXIC, HARM GREATLY OUTWEIGHS BENEFIT; SCHUMER UNVEILS FIRST BILL TO BAN 10 MOST TOXIC FLAME RETARDANTS – PLAN CRITICAL TO PROTECT KIDS FROM DEVELOPMENTAL DANGERS & CANCER
Repeatedly, Experts & Scientists Have Sounded Alarm on Danger of Toxic
Flame Retardants; The Most Recent U.S. Study, Released in August, Found
That Exposure to Flame Retardant Compounds –Linked to Cancer &
Endocrine Disruption – Raised Levels of Toxic Substance in Children
By Up to 23 Times Their Mother’s Exposure Levels
To Boot, According to Experts Toxic Flame Retardants Are Not Effective
In Reducing Fire Risks, But Can Cause Cancer in Firefighters When They
Burn & Become Airborne and Pose Serious Risk to Children & Their
Development With Cumulative Exposure
Schumer, Standing with Concerned Parents & Firefighters, Unveils First
Senate Bill to Ban Top Ten Noxious Flame Retardants from Children’s
Products & Furniture -- Would Also Require Consumer Product Safety
Commission to Study All Other Flame Retardants to Identify Other Dangers
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, for the first time, unveiled
legislation that will ban the top ten noxious flame retardants from upholstered
furniture and children’s products, such as changing table pads,
portable crib mattresses, pajamas, nap mats and nursing pillows. Schumer’s
legislation finally responds to experts and scientists that have repeatedly
sounded the alarm on the danger of toxic flame retardants that have been
found to cause developmental delays in children from long-term exposure,
as well as rare cancers in firefighters when the furniture burns and the
toxins become airborne. The most recent of these studies, released in
August, found that exposure to flame retardant compounds – linked
to cancer and endocrine disruption – raised the levels of the toxic
substance in children by up to 23 times their mother’s exposure
levels. Schumer said that to boot – studies show toxic flame retardants
in the padding of upholstered furniture and children’s products
are not effective in reducing fire risks. In addition to banning the ten
most toxic, known, flame retardants, Schumer’s bill will also require
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study all other flame retardants
to identify other dangers and ban them.
Schumer was joined by Dr. Phil Landrigan, the Director of Mt. Sinai’s
Children's Environmental Health Center, Liz Hitchcock from Safer Chemicals
Healthy Families, representatives of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association
and the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the Center for Environmental
Health, Clean and Heathy NY, as well as health professionals and concerned
mothers with their children.
“It’s a nightmare scenario that is all too real: children
are being exposed to highly toxic flame retardants- that can cause cancer
and developmental delays - just by lying on a changing table and in their
cribs, or even by sitting on the family couch. To boot, these carcinogenic
chemicals found in foam are not effective in reducing fire risks,” said
Senator Schumer. “Scientists and experts agree, flame retardants that are found
in everyday products like furniture and certain children’s products
are highly dangerous to children across New York, as well as to the firefighters
that inhale this toxin when furniture burns and becomes airborne. It is
time to listen to those experts and protect our children, which is why
I am introducing the first federal legislation to ban the ten most toxic
of these chemicals from all furniture and children’s products, and
to require that we root out any other dangerous flame retardants that
may still be out there.”
Schumer highlighted one of the most jarring aspects of the problem: that
flame retardants in foam padding are not a meaningful deterrent to fires.
Testing by the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that flame retardants
provide no meaningful protection from small open flames for upholstered
furniture. The study found if the fabric of the furniture has already
ignited, flame retardants in the furniture’s foam will not slow
the rate of burn.
A study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Duke University
and published on August 4, 2014 found that children are at particular
risk from flame retardants, because they come in closer contact with the
products and dust particles that contain the toxins, and they are still
in development. The study found that on average, the level of exposure
to a fire retardant compound called TDCPP – categorized as a carcinogen
and linked to changes in hormones, problems with metabolism and more -
was approximately five times higher in children than the average level
found in their mothers. In one case, a child had twenty-three times the
level of his mother. Other flame retardant studied, cause obesity and
disrupts healthy blood glucose levels in lab animals, and are believed
to have an impact on diabetes and obesity in humans.
Schumer outlined the purpose of his legislation, called the Children and
Firefighter Protection Act. First and foremost, the legislation would
immediately ban the 10 worst chemical flame retardants from upholstered
furniture and children’s products, such as changing table pads,
portable crib mattresses, pajamas, nap mats, and nursing pillows. The
10 flame retardants include: TDCPP, TCEP, TBBPA, decabromodiphenyl ether,
antimony trioxide, HBCD, TBPH, TBB, chlorinated paraffins, and TCPP. Schumer’s
legislation also gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) additional
authority and requires them to convene a panel to review the safety of
all other chemical flame retardants and issue a ban on flame retardants,
in addition to the ten worst, that are found to be dangerous.
“Toxic flame retardants offer a false promise of fire safety, but
truly increase our risk of cancer and neurological disorders.
"I have conducted extensive research on the health impacts of toxic chemicals on highly exposed populations, particularly fire fighters," said Dr. Susan Shaw, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany and founder/director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute. " Cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among fire fighters today, and I applaud Senator Schumer's bill as a critically important effort to ensure that fire fighters – and all Americans – are protected from exposure to harmful flame retardant chemicals in children’s products and residential furniture."
"What more do we need to successfully ban toxic flame retarding chemicals
from children's products? We've read the replicated studies from
the leading research institutes, we've taken our sick kids to top
pediatricians, we need the political will to rid unnecessary exposure
to these toxic chemicals", said
Karen Joy Miller, Founder, Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition PREVENTION
IS THE CURE Campaign
“We applaud Senator Schumer for introducing this bill to ban toxic
chemicals that for too long have poisoned our children under the false
premise that they offer fire safety,” said
Eve Gartner, Staff Attorney at Earthjustice. “This bill gives CPSC a clear message that it should take decisive
action to protect our families from unsafe chemicals.”
"The science is clear: flame retardant chemicals can cause serious health problems for our children and families, and they don't make us any safer in fires from furniture or children's products," said Michael Green, Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Health. "We strongly support Senator Schumer in this bill that will make our homes, schools and offices healthier places for all Americans."