BILL NUMBER:  S3844A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the environmental conservation law,
in relation to prohibiting the use of chemical flame retardants

 PURPOSE : The purpose of this bill is to limit residential exposure
to chemical flame retardants and to increase fire safety.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends Article 37 of the Environmental Conservation Law by
adding a new Title 9, entitled Chemical Flame Retardants. This title
defines "chemical flame retardants," prohibits the use of chemical
flame retardants, and increases fire safety by requiring manufacturers
to certify, beginning December 1, 2018, that residential upholstered
furniture offered for sale in New York meets the requirements of the
"open flame flammability standard."

"Open flame flammability standard" is defined as a standard, developed
pursuant to the rules and regulations of the department, in
consultation with the office of fire prevention and control, requiring
residential upholstered furniture to not lead to flashover for at
least fifteen minutes of time. The standard must be reviewed no less
than ever two years and include an assessment of the standards used in
other states.

              

The section also authorizes the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) to approve exemptions to the prohibition on the use
of chemical flame retardants upon a determination that the proposed
chemical flame retardant does not pose a risk to human health or the
environment.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :  The objective of this bill is to prohibit the use of
chemical flame retardants on residential upholstered furniture because
of their propensity to combust with rapidity, as well as their adverse
health consequences. These retardants are ineffective in preventing
the spread of fires and, more importantly, when combusted the
chemicals that are released form harmful byproducts that have the
potential to affect the health of firefighters, especially female
firefighters. Recent studies have shown that approximately 94 percent
of couches manufactured after 2005 contain chemical flame retardants.
The amount of chemical flame retardants present in this type of
upholstered furniture is capable of being measured in pounds.

Flame retardant chemicals were added to upholstered furniture in
response to a 1975 California flammability standard study, which was
conducted in response to concerns about the large number of cigarette
fires. However, the increased sale of flame-retardant chemicals has
not eradicated this issue because the chemicals are so ineffective.
The Chicago Tribune quoted an author of one study as saying, "the fire
just laughs at it."

The vast majority of furniture sold in the United States meets the
California standard due to California's large market share. However,
scientific studies have demonstrated that meeting the requirements of
the California standard does not accurately reflect real-world fire
behavior. A study conducted by the United States Department of
Commerce National Bureau of Standards found that there were no
significant differences in fire resistance between treated and
untreated foams.

Not only are chemical flame retardants ineffective, they pose
dangerous health risks when used daily as well as when ignited.
During normal use, chemical flame retardants migrate out of furniture
and into household dust. Toddlers typically show three times the level
of flame retardants in their blood streams as their parents because of
their tendency to put household items in their mouth. This exposure is
on top of what babies are born with. Furthermore, some chemical
retardants are suspected as carcinogenic. When combusted, chemical
flame retardants can form harmful by-products that have potential
adverse health risks to firefighters. A recent study in San Francisco
found that firefighters had two to three times the rate of flame
retardants in their blood stream than the average. 110 female
firefighters in the study experienced a risk of breast cancer that was
nearly six times higher than the general population.

Upholstered furniture can be highly volatile when ignited and has
become a leading cause of firefighter and household deaths because of
the rapid propensity to reach an inflamed, all-consumed stage, called
flashover. Statistics demonstrate that when firefighters are able to
arrive at a scene before the contents of a room have reached
flashover, a fire is able to be contained. This bill prohibits the
sale of residential upholstered furniture in New York that becomes
fully engulfed and subject to flashover in less than fifteen minutes
from the time it is exposed to a heat source and prohibits the use of
certain chemical flame retardants that are added to the composition of
the furniture. Furthermore, the chemical flame retardants as
stipulated in the legislation, are recognized as posing a danger to
both firefighters and citizens because of their toxic qualities when
used every day, as well as their particular gaseous qualities when
inhaled during a fire. For all of the foregoing reasons it is
imperative that this bill is enacted.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : A.6557 of 2013-2014:  Passed Assembly

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :  This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it shall have become a law; provided however, that section
37-0905 shall take effect June 1, 2019, and the Department of
Environmental Conservation may adopt regulations necessary to
implement the act prior to the effective date.