The New Year has brought a new law in California that could lessen the use of flame retardants in furniture.
Flame retardants were added to furniture in the 1970s to prevent house fires. For decades, the filling of couches and chairs has been treated with chemical retardants in order to meet the regulation – which requires that upholstered furniture withstand exposure to a small open flame for 12 seconds.
But not only have flame retardants been linked to cancer, reproductive issues, and neurological impairment, it turns out they don’t even provide significant fire protection.
The new law nixes the open flame test in California. Instead, it states that a piece of furniture must not continue to smolder 45 minutes after a lit cigarette is set on it. This more reasonable standard can be met without the use of flame retardants – such as with less flammable fabrics and polyester linings.
But the law only goes so far. It doesn’t prevent manufacturers from using flame retardants—it just makes it possible for them not to. It will be up to consumers to find out what a given piece of furniture contains by querying retailers and manufacturers.
And there is the issue of disposal – older sofas either end up in landfills or are donated to another family where harmful exposure continues.
Still, it’s a step in the right direction. Environmentalists and consumer health advocates hope that the steps taken by California will filter out to the rest of the country, which currently operates under the old regulations.
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Web Links
Cancer-Linked Flame Retardants Eased Out of Furniture in 2014
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-linked-flame&page=2
Photo, taken on October 18, 2011, courtesy of Brian’s Furniture via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.