I have good news! Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to start the process to ban, not just ONE, but an entire class of toxic flame retardants (organohalogens) in electronics, furniture, and kids’ products.
The vote happened just as we released our latest report “TV Reality,” which found that TVs continue to contain toxic flame retardants that can escape and contaminate our homes. We also discovered that two TVs sold in Washington – one manufactured by Samsung and the other by Element – contained the flame retardant deca-BDE, which has been banned in Washington state for nearly a decade! We’ve asked the Department of Ecology to investigate and to take action against these companies if they are found to have violated the law.
You can read all about our findings on our website and WATCH this report from KOMO News. The report was even covered in the Chicago Tribune.
My favorite quote in the Tribune was from a leading scientist:
“Every chemical tested in this class has adverse effects,” Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, told the commission at a hearing last week. “Unless we approach this as a class, we are going to find ourselves in the same situation five years, 10 years down the road. The evidence has built to the point that all of these chemicals, and all future chemicals of this class, are going to escape into the environment and then into people.”
That’s right! We have been saying this for years and the government is starting to listen. It’s time to stop the chemical whack-a-mole and get serious about protecting children and the environment.
Our scientists shouldn’t have to test products so you can find out whether they contain harmful chemicals. Companies should be using chemicals that are safe for our health and environment and telling us what chemicals they use.
Thank you for your continued action to protect Washington families from toxic chemicals!
Also, you can help us celebrate our science program and the victories it supports at our 3rd Annual Cocktail Party, “A Soiree for Science” on Thursday, October 12th. More information and to buy tickets visit our website.
Executive Director
Laurie Valeriano is Toxic-Free Future's executive director. Laurie has worked at Toxic-Free Future for over 25 years, working to advance precedent-setting state environmental health policies that protect people and the environment.
