Reducing Toxic Flame Retardants in Health Care, One Chair at a Time

 — Earlier this month, California proposed to change an obscure rule that for decades has resulted in our ongoing exposure to hazardous chemicals in our homes and workplaces. The rule, a 1970s-era standard that was intended to protect people from fires, instead led to the widespread use of ineffective toxic flame retardants in upholstered furniture in American homes and workplaces.

Rachel Gibson
Director
Safer Chemicals Program

You can help by sending a letter supporting the changes!

While fire safety is critical, the way California set the original standard effectively encouraged the use of chemicals that may cause more harm than good. And because the California market is so large—and many other state and local governments have adopted the standard—what happens in California dictates what goes into furnishings nationwide.

Under the state’s current standard for residential settings (called a flammability standard), the foam inside upholstered cushions must withstand a candle-like flame for 12 seconds—a standard that most furniture manufacturers meet by adding toxic flame retardants. Many have criticized the standard as not providing any fire safety benefit and not relevant for typical fires. And evidence suggests that the fire retardants do not even work. The proposed changes would require the exterior of the cushion—the upholstery fabric—to resist a smoldering cigarette, a standard that reflects the reality of how most fires start. Manufacturers indicate they can meet the new standard without the use of flame retardants in their foam or fabric.

Why is this relevant to health care? Scientific evidence linking flame retardants to an array of potential health effects, including cancer, reduced IQ, developmental problems, and impaired fertility, has grown significantly in recent years. Studies also demonstrate that the chemicals have been building up in human bodies, including breast milk, around the world. Flame retardants have been found in every biomonitoring study conducted of Americans, often at much higher levels than Europeans.

Beyond the important health implications for patients and their families at home, the new flammability standard could lead to safer work environments in the health care sector. Hospitals and other health care facilities that are equipped with sprinkler systems are permitted to purchase furniture that meets the residential flammability standard, rather than the more costly standard for public occupancy buildings. This will continue under the proposed changes, with the California Bureau of Home Furnishings clarifying its original intent to allow fully-sprinklered public occupancies to meet the residential standard.

This proposed change will not compromise fire safety; it may in fact improve it. Studies by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that chemically-treated foam is not effective in reducing fire hazard and that, in terms of furniture design and specification, the use of smolder-resistant furniture fabric is the most effective way to prevent furniture fires.

Why does this matter outside of California? Health Care Without Harm’s research has revealed that companies manufacture furniture to meet the California standard, regardless of whether their furniture is being sold in the Golden State or elsewhere in the United States.

If the proposed changes are finalized, this would be a huge victory for health care, particularly as companies work to eliminate harmful chemicals from their work and healing environments.

You can help! California’s Bureau of Home Furnishings is seeking public comment from any interested person on the proposed changes to the flammability standard, and we urge you to express your support for this important step in the effort to reduce exposures to toxic chemicals. Sign your name to the growing list of supporters.

Heath Care without Harm, an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, is working to transform the health care sector, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. To learn more about HCWH's work, visit our website at www.noharm.org, our YouTube channel at HCwithoutharm, and our twitter feed at hcwithoutharm.