March 17, 2006

Olympia, Wash. -- Despite strong bipartisan support, the Legislature failed for the second consecutive year to pass important legislation to phase out the use of toxic flame retardants called PBDEs that are rapidly building up in breast milk, our bodies, and in wildlife. PBDEs are chemical cousins of long-banned PCBs, and are known to impair learning, behavior, and development in lab animals.

"We had the votes to pass the bill, but in the end, the Senate didn't bring the bill to a vote," said Laurie Valeriano, policy director of the Washington Toxics Coalition.

The bill (HB 1488) sponsored by Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Medina) and Sen. Debbie Regala (D-Tacoma) would have been a major step forward in making Washington state a leader in protecting children's health from toxic chemicals in products. A weakened version of the bill passed in the House unanimously, but it was restored to full strength in the Senate committee process.

"I am deeply disappointed that the Legislature did not pass this critical measure to protect the health of our children and their capacity to learn," said Hunter. "Without a ban in place, hundreds of thousands of pounds of this chemical used in consumer products will continue to enter Washington state every year."

The bill would have:

• Phased out the most widely used form of PBDE -- known as deca -- in enclosures for televisions and computers by 2010.
• Phased out deca in residential upholstered furniture, mattresses, and mattress pads by 2012.
• Phased out the penta and octa forms of PBDEs in consumer products by 2007. These two forms have already been voluntarily phased out of production by the U.S. chemical industry.
• Required the departments of Ecology and Health in consultation with the State Fire Marshal to identify safer, effective alternatives before the ban on deca took effect.

"The bill represents a reasonable approach to address the ubiquitous prevalence of these toxic chemicals -- which are found in breast milk, our bodies, orca whales and other wildlife, and the environment," said David Heywood, MD, of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. "This was a golden opportunity for the Legislature to pursue this ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure. While we applaud those senators and representatives who worked on these efforts, we are disappointed that the Legislature failed to take this action on behalf of children's health."

Despite having a majority of senators pledging support for the bill, out-of-state chemical industry interests lobbied aggressively against the bill, spreading misinformation about its impacts, and convinced a few key senators not to let the bill come up for a vote. The companies who opposed the bill are the same companies -- Albemarle and Great Lakes Chemical -- that have their roots in leaded gasoline, ethylene dibromide (a leaded gasoline additive and banned pesticide), and methyl bromide (a highly toxic agricultural pesticide).

Industry claims of deca safety run contrary to our own state-agencies findings. The Washington state departments of Ecology and Health found that deca breaks down into the forms that the PBDE-makers agreed to phase out (penta and octa) over environmental and health concerns. In addition, chemical company claims that the bill would negatively impact fire safety standards were proved false by companies such as HP, Dell, and Ikea, all of which meet the highest fire standards without the use of PBDEs.

"The chemical companies hid behind false concerns about fire safety and scientific data," stated Regala. "The fact is companies are already making fire-safe products without the use of PBDEs," she added.

The PBDE bill was a priority of the Washington state environmental community and supported by the Washington State Nurses Association, the Washington chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Washington state departments of Ecology and Health, and many other organizations.

Contact:
Laurie Valeriano
Washington Toxics Coalition
206-632-1545 ext. 114