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Kids Campaign
To Learn about the Health Impacts of Brominated and Chlorinated Fire Retardants, click here. Frequently asked questions about fire retardants See what firefighters are saying about AB706 Mark Leno Urges a Ban on Cancer-Causing Fire Retardants- video clip (8-23-07) CBS newsclip on AB706 (8-23-07) Friends of the Earth's press release on AB706 L.A. Times OpEd in support of AB706 (7-28-07) |
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Bluewater
Network works to stop environmental damage from vehicles and vessels,
and to protect human health and the planet by reducing dependence on fossil
fuels. Bluewater is a division of Friends of the Earth - the U.S. voice
of the world's largest network of environmental groups with one million
supporters in 70 countries across five continents. |
Friends
of the Earth is a co-sponsor of AB706, the Crystal Golden-Jefferson Furniture
Safety and Fire Prevention Act, which calls for the immediate phase-out
of two classes of toxic fire retardant chemicals used in our everyday
home furnishings: brominated and chlorinated fire retardants (BFRs and
CFRs). Virtually every Californian tested has been found to have BFRs
and CFRs stored in their bodies, with babies and young children showing
the highest levels. BFRs and CFRs have been documented in hundreds of
peer-reviewed scientific studies to cause serious health problems in adults
and children including cancer, birth defects, learning disorders, mental
retardation, ADHD and hyperactivity. Exposure to these chemicals poses
unnecessary health risks when safer and equally effective fire retardant
alternatives are available today, including phosphate-based chemicals,
melamine, boric acid and internal fire-resistant barriers. AB706 is supported
by numerous firefighter, environmental, parent, consumer, public health,
furniture manufacturer and labor organizations who believe that California
will achieve equivalent or superior fire safety standards through the
use of these less toxic fire retardant alternatives in our furniture.