Tag Archives: SB 1019

What You Need To Know About Toxic Chemicals Sprayed On Flame Retardant Furniture

by Anastasia Pantsios, Ecowatch

In late 2013, California passed new flammability standards which kicked in at the beginning of this month. While not banning flame retardants, they no longer require that furniture be resistant to open flame but only to smoldering cigarettes. Most upholstery fabrics meet that standard without chemicals, eliminating the need for fire-resistant foam underneath. For greater consumer protection, the state later added a requirement that products containing the chemicals be labeled. Read More ›

SB 1019: Governor Signs Toxic Furniture Right-to-know Bill

Californians can breathe easier since a new, non-toxic flammability test for upholstered furniture took effect January 1, 2014. However, the new regulation does not ban the use of dangerous halogenated chemicals as fire retardants, and the chemical industry is trying to persuade manufacturers to continue loading them into furniture sold in California. Senate Bill 1019 (Leno) would give consumers the right to know whether the furniture they buy is loaded with harmful chemicals. Read More ›

Flame retardant bill wins important industry support

by Gary Cohn, Capital & Main

Furniture makers switched sides on SB 1019 after state Sen. Mark Leno agreed to clarify the definition of flame retardants. It’s still bitterly opposed by the chemical industry, whose campaign against regulation and public disclosure of flame-retardant chemicals is reminiscent of Big Tobacco’s fight against government controls. “The fact is that flame retardants have not been found to improve fire safety in our furniture and SB 1019 would provide consumers with truth-in-labeling for the first time,” said Judy Levin, pollution prevention co-director at the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health. Read More ›

EWG-Duke study finds five times as much cancer-causing fire retardants in children as in mothers

by Environmental Working Group, press release

Environmental Working Group researchers teamed up with scientists at Duke University to test 22 mothers and 26 children. The results were disturbing: the urine in every mother and child tested yielded evidence of exposure to TDCIPP, a cancer-causing fire retardant. In the children, the average concentration of a chemical biomarker left when TDCIPP breaks down was nearly five times the average in the mothers. Read More ›

California should warn consumers about ‘toxic’ flame retardants

by The Editorial Board, The Sacramento Bee

Numerous studies buttress the warning in Leno’s legislation. A study last year by the MIND Institute at UC Davis found one component of flame retardants accumulates in human blood, fat and breast milk. The institute summarized the study by saying the “chemical, quite literally, reduces brain power.” Earlier this month, Kaiser Permanente provided a boost to Leno’s effort by becoming the first health care provider in the nation to announce it would stop purchasing furniture treated with flame retardants. Read More ›

State senator wants consumers to know what fire retardants they are taking home

by Samantha Weigel, San Mateo Daily Journal

Scrutiny over the widespread use of flame retardant chemicals led California to update its flammability standards last year, and now Senator Mark Leno wants to provide consumers with the ability to make well-informed decisions over what they bring into their homes. Read More ›