Mark Leno's bill would close loophole on fire-retardant use

Mark Leno has tried to regulate chemical retardants for years. Mark Leno has tried to regulate chemical retardants for years. Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mark Leno's bill would close loophole on fire-retardant use 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

New legislation would give Californians the right to know whether the furniture they're buying contains potentially dangerous flame-retardant chemicals.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, comes on the heels of changes to a state regulation designed to make it easier for furniture manufacturers to meet safety requirements without using flame-retardant chemicals.

But Leno, who has tried to regulate chemical retardants for the past seven years, said the changed regulation still doesn't tell consumers all they need to know.

The regulation "merely states there is a new flammability standard ... and there's a way to meet that standard without the use of chemicals," Leno explained. "But if you go to buy some furniture and there's no labeling of what it is and what it isn't, you're still in the dark."

Leno's SB1019 would require manufacturers to disclose to consumers whether the furniture contains fire-retardant chemicals.

"The legislation is a commonsense measure to require labeling about the use of these chemicals in our furniture," said Dr. Sarah Janssen, UCSF research scientist and board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility in the Bay Area. "It's basic information about our furniture every consumer needs to know when making big purchases for their homes."

The current regulation allows manufacturers to more readily comply with safety standards without resorting to chemicals, which have been linked to reproductive and neurological problems, as well as cancer, developmental delays and potentially other health effects.

It went into effect Jan. 1, but manufacturers are not required to comply until Jan. 1, 2015.

Manufacturers were never required to use fire retardants, but they typically put them in polyurethane foam products in order to pass the tests under the old standard. The old standard required upholstered furniture to withstand 12 seconds of small open flame, akin to a match, but the new standard requires upholstery to resist a cigarette-like smolder.

Officials from Leno's office said his bill has yet to receive formal opposition, but the chemical industry has long fought the changes. One manufacturer of flame retardant has already filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the new regulation.

Some furniture manufacturers have already started to produce furniture that's free of flame retardants.

"We are advocates of the law. We go to the factories and say we are not buying anything with flame retardants in it," said Bob Schoenfeld, compliance officer in the Petaluma headquarters of Scandinavian Designs, Plummers and Dania.

Schoenfeld said more than 80 percent of the furniture sold by the company has no added flame retardants. He said the company stopped using the products in August.