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A recent Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency report endorsed a ban on decaBDE,
which is last of the toxic PBDE family of flame retardants still
legal in Illinois. The IEPA report cited scientific findings that
decaBDE breaks down into molecules that are more toxic and may mimic
human estrogen and thyroid hormones. The report also found that
alternative flame retardants are widely used and can be substituted
in household consumer products with little or no cost barrier. "We
know that 44 percent of worldwide decaBDE use occurs in North
America, and that our bodies are stockpiling this toxic at alarming
rates," said state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, sponsor of
House Bill 1421, which would enact a similar ban in Illinois.
"That's why I, along with legislators in Washington, Michigan,
Minnesota, New York, California and other states, have introduced
common-sense legislation to eliminate its use where alternatives are
most readily available."
Nekritz's legislation would prohibit the use of decaBDE in
electronics casings and home furnishings by 2011. Despite staunch
opposition from the four out-of-state chemical companies that still
make decaBDE, the House Environmental Health Committee passed the
bill on March 20, and it now awaits a vote by the full Illinois
House of Representatives. To become law, it must then pass the
Illinois Senate and be signed by the governor.
"Deca's days are done" said Max Muller, environmental advocate at
Environment Illinois." The Washington bill is another nail in the
coffin. State agencies in Washington, Maine, Michigan and Illinois
have all concluded the same thing: It's time to stop deliberately
putting this toxic in products sold to Illinois families."
More than 50 million pounds of decaBDE are built into TVs, home
furnishings and other products annually in North America. Due to its
tendency to leach from products and propensity for airborne
transport, decaBDE is found in increasing concentrations in polar
bear blood, sewage sludge, food, water, and even human blood and
mothers' breast milk. Several studies suggest decaBDE is neurotoxic,
but the greater concern is its breakdown in nature into even more
toxic chemicals.
"Studies have shown that natural sunlight can degrade decaBDE
into smaller molecules that are components of the PentaBDE and
OctaBDE commercial mixtures already banned in Illinois," said Dr.
Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke University, at
the March 20 Illinois House hearing. "These smaller molecules are
more persistent, bioaccumulative and potentially more toxic than the
parent decaBDE. If we continue to use decaBDE in such high volumes,
we risk human exposure to these persistent chemicals for decades to
come."
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"U.S. manufacturers are already phasing out decaBDE, but it's not
surprising that the European Union, which generally protects its
citizens from toxics exposure better than the United States, is much
further along in eliminating decaBDE," said Dr. Mark Rossi, research
director at Clean Production Action, which advises companies in
environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. "Manufacturers of
TVs sold in Europe meet the highest fire safety standards without
using decaBDE." Alternatives for textiles include naturally
flame-resistant additives, including boric acid and phosphates, and
for electronics, inherently flame-resistant metal casings or
substitution with safer chemical additives.
Like other toxics, decaBDE is likely most dangerous to infants
and developing children, and it is children who are most exposed.
Studies suggest young children receive up to 300 times greater
exposure to PBDEs than adults, primarily from breast milk and
inadvertent dust ingestion.
PBDEs can also endanger firefighters. According to the
International Association of Firefighters, "Unlike other flame
retardants, when PBDEs burn, they release dense fumes, black smoke
that reduces visibility and the highly corrosive gas known as
hydrogen bromide." The Associated Firefighters of Illinois, Illinois
Firefighters Association and Illinois Fire Safety Alliance support
decaBDE phaseout.
In Lake Michigan, PBDEs amass in top predator fish, such as
salmon and trout, to the same extent as its chemical cousins, the
notorious PCBs, which were banned 30 years ago but are still the No.
1 cause of advisories against fish consumption in Illinois. Lake
Michigan's fish PBDE concentrations have been found to be among the
highest of open-water fish anywhere in the world. If their use is
not curtailed, PBDEs could surpass PCBs to become Lake Michigan's
main contaminant.
In 2005, Nekritz sponsored successful legislation banning
products containing two kinds of PBDEs, known as pentaBDE and
octaBDE, and now these two chemicals are off the market.
For more information:
[Text from
news release received from Environment Illinois]
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