Opening Statement By Rep. Degette on Eliminating Toxic Flame Retardants

Opening Statement By Rep. Degette on Eliminating Toxic Flame Retardants

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) released the following statement concerning her proposal to eliminate toxic flame-retardants known as PBDEs:

Good afternoon. I am proud to be standing here today with my friends, Hilda Solis and Lynn Woolsey as well as Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group. They are all champions of consumer protection and public health advocates.

One of the important public health lessons our nation learned in the 1970s is that we must be ever vigilant in protecting the public from the lasting impact of toxic chemicals. Science, industry and government have an obligation to work together to identify and reduce chemical exposures that pose serious threats to the nation's health.

We are here today because brominated fire retardants - also known as PBDEs - pose just such a threat to the public. These toxic chemicals, used in everything from furniture to home electronics, telephones and even the seats of cars and airplanes, have accumulated in our bodies and in the environment for 30 years. A growing body of research demonstrates that this exposure creates real and preventable health problems for many Americans.

As Representative Solis described, PBDEs are structurally similar to PCBs, which were banned because of health and environmental concerns in 1976. Research thus far has found that much of what we learned over the past 20 years about PCBs is also true of these fire retardants.

The primary concern is that PBDEs inhibit the hormone that controls thyroid functions. Most troubling, research has found that PBDEs are transferred from mother to fetus in utero. This can retard brain development in fetuses this significantly lowers IQs and reduces mental ability of young children. In adults, thyroid dysfunction contributes to fatigue, weight gain, and depression. Studies have also found evidence of damage to reproductive systems after low-dose exposure and damage to neural development.

This mass of research has led the U.S. National Toxicology Program to classify PBDEs as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."

Other governments and even some companies have taken action. PBDEs are now banned in California and Maine as well as the European Union. Sony and IKEA are phasing out the use of PBDEs in their products.
It is past time to implement a national policy. The United States is at the epicenter of this problem. Our nation and Canada combined purchased half of all PBDEs in the world in 2001. American women have 15 to 100 times higher levels of this toxic chemical in their bodies than European women. What is worse, these levels are doubling in humans and the environment every 2.5 years. This poses an unacceptable health risk that only the elimination of brominated fire retardants will solve.

As we learned from our response to PCBs in the 1970s, a failure to act on early warnings leads to irreversible public harm. This is a national public health concern that requires a national response. That is why we introduced this bill and why Congress should act now."