WA State Unveils Plan to Phase Out Toxic Flame Retardants

by Brandie Smith

More than 100 people--including doctors, breastfeeding moms, community members, and green-building, environmental and children's health advocates--turned out to an October public meeting in Seattle to praise the departments of Ecology and Health for their draft plan to phase out toxic flame retardants called PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) and to ask that the plan be strengthened to fully protect children's health and the environment.

"We commend the state for all its work on PBDEs," said Elise Miller, executive director of the Institute for Children's Environmental Health. "Let's have Washington state lead the nation by phasing out all forms of PBDEs, by using safer alternatives, and by saying 'yes' to our children reaching their fullest potential."

The draft plan recommends a ban on two forms of PBDEs (penta-BDE and octa-BDE) by 2006 as well as a ban on the third, most widely used, form--deca-BDE--in consumer electronics and certain textiles by 2008. There was overwhelming support at the meeting for a shorter timeline of 2006 for banning all forms of PBDEs and a more comprehensive ban on all new products containing deca-BDE, not just a ban in consumer electronics and upholstered fabrics intended for homes and offices.

Since penta-BDE and octa-BDE will not be produced in the United States by the end of 2004, the focus of the debate has been on what the departments of Ecology and Health will recommend on deca-BDE. The draft plan is a bold step in the right direction because it recommends action on the major uses of deca-BDE. However, while this recommendation would result in significant reductions in deca-BDE use, in order to fully protect children's health and the environment all uses of deca-BDE should be banned by 2006.

"Deca has been found in breast milk, in wildlife, in the food chain, and in household dust. It can also break down into the more harmful forms of PBDEs that are being phased out," said Laurie Valeriano, policy director for Washington Toxics Coalition. "The only rational response to this vast contamination is to ban all uses of deca."

The state developed the plan as part of its strategy to eliminate persistent toxic chemicals and an Executive Order signed by Gov. Locke in January 2004. The governor directed the agencies to act due to emerging scientific evidence that PBDEs are rapidly increasing in our bodies, food chain, and wildlife. PBDEs are in orca whales, ospreys, and even in breast milk of Puget Sound-area moms.

The good news is that safer alternatives to these chemicals exist. Alternatives to PBDEs include product design changes, naturally resistant materials, and safer flame retardant chemicals. It is possible to meet the standards of fire safety and have healthier children and cleaner breast milk by phasing out toxic flame retardants.

The final PBDE plan will be released December 1, 2004, and the Legislature will most likely act on the recommendations in the 2005 session. But the opportunity to comment on the plan is right now. Ecology is accepting comments on the plan until November 9, 2004.

For more information please visit our website at www.watoxics.org or call Kristina Logsdon at 206-632-1545 ext. 20. Make your voice heard and tell the departments of Ecology and Health to recommend a comprehensive ban on all forms and uses of PBDEs, especially deca-BDE, by 2006.

Flame Retardants in Breast Milk

In September, the Toxics Coalition co-released a study published by Northwest Environment Watch, showing that all 40 moms tested from Oregon, Washington, Montana, and British Columbia had PBDEs in their breast milk. Overall, the levels of PBDEs found in the breast milk samples were 20 to 40 times higher than the levels found in European and Japanese women. This study confirms other strong evidence that PBDEs are building up rapidly in people and the environment, with levels in many countries doubling every two to five years.

"The women in the study have some of the highest PBDE levels on record," said Clark Williams-Derry, research director for Northwest Environment Watch, the Seattle research and communication center that conducted the study. "It's more evidence that we need to phase these chemicals out."

Studies on laboratory animals have shown that PBDEs can impair memory and learning, alter behavior, delay sexual development, and disturb thyroid hormone levels. Developing babies are most at risk, because they are exposed to PBDEs when they leach out of products and contaminate our homes, food chain, and bodies.