Schumer: Orange County Firefighters Are Exposed to Carcinogenic Flame-Retardant Chemicals Found in Burning Furniture & Children's Products

Press Release

Today, at the City of Newburgh Fire Department, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer pushed new legislation that would ban the top ten noxious flame retardants from upholstered furniture and children's products, such as changing table pads, crib mattresses, pajamas, nap mats and nursing pillows. Schumer's legislation, supported by Orange County firefighters and product safety groups, finally responds to national experts and scientists that have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the danger of toxic flame retardants that have been found to cause developmental delays in children who have had long-term exposure, as well as rare cancers in firefighters when the furniture burns and the toxins become airborne. Schumer noted that Orange County firefighters fight over 800 fires per year, and since most furniture contains these chemicals, firefighters are exposed to them at an alarming rate. The most recent of these studies, released in August, found that exposure to these flame retardant compounds -- linked to cancer and endocrine disruption -- raised the levels of the toxic substance in children by up to 23 times their mother's exposure levels. Schumer said that, to boot, studies show toxic flame retardants in the padding of upholstered furniture and children's products are not effective in reducing fire risks. In addition to banning the ten most toxic, known, flame retardants, Schumer's bill would also require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study all other flame retardants to identify other dangers and ban them in order to better keep Orange County residents and first responders alike safe during fire emergencies.

"Rushing into a burning building is dangerous enough, but Orange County firefighters are also being exposed to harmful amounts of highly toxic, carcinogenic flame retardants almost every time they respond to a fire," said Schumer. "These flame retardants are meant to save lives, but instead they are ineffective at reducing fire risk and causing cancer in our firefighters. And it is not just firefighters -- children are being exposed to these retardants -- that can cause cancer and developmental delays -- every day just by lying on a changing table and in their cribs, or even by sitting on the family couch. Scientists and experts agree that flame retardants found in everyday products like furniture and certain children's products are highly dangerous to children in Orange County, as well as to the firefighters that are exposed to this toxin when furniture burns. It is time to listen to those experts and protect our children and our firefighters, which is why I am introducing the first federal legislation to ban the ten most toxic of these chemicals from all furniture and children's products, and to require that we root out any other dangerous flame retardants that may still be out there."

Schumer highlighted one of the most jarring aspects of the problem: that flame retardants in foam padding are not a meaningful deterrent to fires. Testing by the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that flame retardants provide no meaningful protection from small open flames for upholstered furniture. The study found if the fabric of the furniture has already ignited, flame retardants in the furniture's foam will not slow the rate of burn.

A study conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Duke University -- published on August 4, 2014 -- found that children are at particular risk from flame retardants, because they come in closer contact with the products and dust particles that contain the toxins, and they are still in development. The study found that on average, the level of exposure to a fire retardant compound called TDCPP -- categorized as a carcinogen and linked to changes in hormones, problems with metabolism and more - was approximately five times higher in children than the average level found in their mothers. In one case, a child had twenty-three times the level of his mother. Other flame retardants studied cause obesity and disrupt healthy blood glucose levels in lab animals, and are believed to have an impact on diabetes and obesity in humans.

According to an in-depth series of reports by the Chicago Tribune, scientists today now know that flame retardants often escape from household products and settle in dust. That is why small children who play on the floor generally have far higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies than their parents. According to this report, the average American infant is born with the highest recorded concentrations of flame retardant chemicals in the world. According to the U.S. government's lead author in a flame retardant study, Vytenis Babrauskas, the small amounts of flame retardants in typical home furnishings offer little to no fire protection, and flame retardant industry producers have repeatedly used the study in ways that are improper and untruthful.

Schumer outlined the purpose of his legislation, called the Children and Firefighter Protection Act (S. 2811). First and foremost, the legislation would immediately ban the 10 worst chemical flame retardants from upholstered furniture and children's products, such as changing table pads, portable crib mattresses, pajamas, nap mats, and nursing pillows. The 10 flame retardants include: TDCPP, TCEP, TBBPA, decabromodiphenyl ether, antimony trioxide, HBCD, TBPH, TBB, chlorinated paraffins, and TCPP. Schumer's legislation also gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) additional authority and requires them to convene a panel to review the safety of all other chemical flame retardants and issue a ban on flame retardants, in addition to the ten worst, that are found to be dangerous.

Schumer was joined by Orange County firefighters; Walter C. Koury, Commissioner, Orange County Department of Emergency Services; Michael Vatter, Chief, City of Newburgh Fire Department; Judy Kennedy, Mayor, City of Newburgh; Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus; and Chuck Bell from Consumers Union.

"Speaking on behalf of the members of the Newburgh Fire Department and the fire service in general, legislation that works to reduce the number of carcinogens present in the fire environment is step in a the right direction," said Michael Vatter, Chief of the City of Newburgh Fire Department. "Current studies have found that the rate of mesothelioma in firefighters is twice the rate of the US population in general. Moreover, the studies indicate that firefighters have a much higher risk of contracting respiratory, digestive and urinary cancers."

"It's been found that these chemicals can produce harmful effects on the health of our young children. There's no better age to begin protecting them from a lifetime of potential medical issues and no better time than now to start," said Walter C. Koury, Commissioner for the Orange County Department of Emergency Services.

"I have conducted extensive research on the health impacts of toxic chemicals on highly exposed populations, particularly fire fighters," said Dr. Susan Shaw, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany and founder/director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute. "Cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths among fire fighters today, and I applaud Senator Schumer's bill as a critically important effort to ensure that fire fighters -- and all Americans -- are protected from exposure to harmful flame retardant chemicals in children's products and residential furniture."

"On behalf of the New York State Professional Firefighters Association, I am thankful to our great friend Senator Schumer for his leadership in crafting this most important legislaton that will protect and save countless firefighters as well as civilians from these dangerous and unnecessary chemicals," said Mike McManus, President NYSPFA.

"The science shows that many flame retardants might be harmful to human health, particularly children," said Jason Rano, EWG's Director of Government Affairs. "We applaud Sen. Schumer for introducing a bill that will help reduce children's exposure to toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and developmental toxicity."

"Imagine that you discover you have pounds of a cancer-causing chemical in your living room furniture, which continually comes off and gets in the air, dust and our bodies," said Kathy Curtis, executive director of Clean and Healthy New York and coordinator of the Alliance for Toxic Free Fire Safety. "Then imagine you seek to replace that threat to your family's health, and find no suitable replacement furniture. This is unacceptable. We're grateful to Senator Schumer for introducing a solution to the problem that is poisoning living rooms across America."

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