FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill to Ban Toxic Flame Retardants (PBDEs) Advances in Washington State Legislature

Legislation to ban toxic chemicals used widely as flame retardants in electronics, furniture, and carpet has moved out of environmental committees this week and could be heading for passage in the full House and Senate as early as next week.

Legislation to ban toxic chemicals used widely as flame retardants in electronics, furniture, and carpet has moved out of environmental committees this week and could be heading for passage in the full House and Senate as early as next week.

"We have crossed a major hurdle to banning toxic flame retardants," said Mo McBroom, staff attorney for the Washington Public Interest Research Group. "We have great momentum on this bill and the primary opposition is coming from out of state chemical companies who don't have a stake in a healthy Washington."

The legislation (HSB 1488 and SSB 5515) bans polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are found to be building up rapidly in breast milk, the food chain, and wildlife. The legislation would also require Ecology to study other actions to address PBDE contamination, and get state agencies to purchase PBDE-free products.

"We need to stop these chemicals from getting into our homes, our environment, our bodies, and our children," said Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48), prime sponsor of the legislation. "This bill does just that by turning off the spigot so we don't add more of these toxic chemicals to those already out there."

In a study released last year by Northwest Environment Watch, high levels of PBDEs were found in the breast milk of all 40 Northwest women who participated in the study. Levels found in the breast milk of women in Washington state were 20 to 40 times higher than levels found in Europe and Japan. PBDEs, chemical cousins of PCBs, can impair memory and learning and disturb thyroid hormone levels in lab animals.

"Our right to provide toxic-free breast milk to our babies is being violated," said Laurie Valeriano, policy director for Washington Toxics Coalition and breast-feeding mother of twins. "We have a chance to create a toxic-free future for our children if the Legislature acts to ban toxic flame retardants now."

Under an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and a chemical manufacturer, two of the three main PBDEs in use, penta-BDE and octa-BDE, have been taken off the market beginning in 2005. The chemical industry is fighting to retain the use of the third most heavily used mixture, deca-BDE (deca), used primarily in plastic television casings.

"Deca has been found in breast milk, in wildlife, in the environment, and in household dust. It can also break down into other toxic forms of PBDEs that have been banned in Europe and California, " said McBroom. "The writing is on the wall: deca should be banned before it becomes the new PCBs.  Cost-effective alternatives to deca exist and are already being used by companies like Sony, NEC, and Panasonic."

The Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition has launched a significant paid media campaign to educate the public about toxic flame retardants. The ad will run multiple times in The Seattle Times Eastside edition, The King County Journal, and The Olympian. The ad is also running in the March edition of Seattle's Child. In addition, the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition has launched a new website, www.BanToxics.org, to provide information about the issue. The ad, as well as a new flash video, can be seen on the website.

Groups supporting the legislation to ban toxic flame retardants include:

Contact:

Mo McBroom
WashPIRG
206-799-1589

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

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