DEP urges legislative ban on fire retardant

AUGUSTA – State environmental regulators began making a case Thursday for a legislative ban on a common chemical flame retardant in televisions that recent studies have linked to brain development problems in laboratory mice.

Staff with Maine’s Center for Disease Control and the Department of Environmental Protection told lawmakers that the chemical compound decaBDE, while an effective flame retardant, is leaching potential toxins into the air and the environment.

The leading fire inhibitor used in television cases today, deca, the name by which it is commonly known, is now found in humans, wildlife and the environment throughout the globe, including in the Arctic.

Most alarming, deca becomes airborne in dust as the chemical degrades over time. Scientific studies have shown that deca, when inhaled or ingested, accumulates in humans’ fatty tissues and has been identified in breast milk.

In a report presented to a legislative committee Thursday, DEP staff recommended that the Legislature ban the sale of televisions and other electronics equipment encased in plastic made with deca. The ban would take effect in 2012 to allow the industry time to adjust.

The department is also recommending a ban, beginning next year, on mattresses and other upholstered furniture containing deca. That ban is a proactive move, however, because few of those products currently use deca.

“The slow release of decaBDE from these products has led to widespread environmental contamination,” reads the report’s conclusion. “Levels in human tissue, human breast milk and the food we eat are cause for concern.”

Maine banned two related polybrominated fire retardants, known as “octa” and “penta,” in consumer products beginning last year. At the time, the Legislature asked the DEP to report back on whether safer alternatives to deca exist in order to extend the ban.

The DEP’s report states that safe alternatives already exist that provide just as much fire protection as deca.

The fact that several major manufacturers, including the world’s leading television maker, Sony, are moving away from deca shows the alternatives are both technically feasible and affordable, the report said.

Raymond Dawson, a representative of the Louisiana-based flame retardant manufacturer Albemarle, acknowledged that deca has environmental problems and said the industry is working to address those issues.

But Dawson, whose company makes both deca and phosphorus-based alternatives, cast doubt on whether the other alternatives are any safer. He urged the committee to be judicious and to consider the fact that no other states or countries have banned deca.

“To propose replacement with a less understood flame retardant does not seem sound,” Dawson told members of the Legislature’s Natural Resources Committee.

But Deborah Rice with the Maine CDC’s Environmental and Occupational Health Program told lawmakers there is no question in her mind that deca should be eliminated because it is a persistent toxin that accumulates in the food chain.

Research conducted by Rice and Vince Markowski at the University of Southern Maine found that newborn lab mice subjected to deca exhibited brain development problems, including lower grip strength, decreased thyroid levels and more errors on a learning task.

Rice said scientists now understand that deca rapidly degrades into compounds known to be dangerous. While expressing concern about replacing deca with an equally toxic compound, Rice said that, if given the choice between a television containing deca and one used with an alternative flame retardant, she would choose the alternative.

“The reason we are in this bind is because the industry doesn’t have to collect any data about the compounds they are putting into commerce,” Rice said.

The Legislature is expected to consider several deca-related bills, including some that would ban use of the flame retardant before 2012.

Several environmental and health groups have made banning deca one of their top priorities for the current legislative session. They are also enlisting the support of Maine’s firefighting community.