Reducing California's exposure AB 706; you decide.

“Over the last 50 years, chemicals have come to play a role in all aspects of our lives. They make our clothes brighter, keep insects out of our fruits and vegetables and protect us from fires. But they come at a cost,” Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, wrote in a California Progress Report.

Assembly Bill 706 was introduced by Leno on Feb. 22, 2007. After passing the California Assembly, the bill was defeated in the Senate with a vote of 19 to 20. If signed, this bill will ban the use of specific chemicals such as brominated and chlorinated fire retardants used in upholstered furniture and bedding products, such as pillows, comforters and mattresses.

Fire originating in upholstered furniture account for 20 percent of all fire-related deaths each year in the United States and claim the lives of 10 people each week, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. California is the first and only state to add chemical fire retardants to its furniture due to the standards passed in the 1970s, making them the toughest standards in the nation.

Following the acceptance of regulations passed, fatality rates fell by more than 25 percent in California, according to the California Bureau of Home Furnishings. Research is now showing that because of these high standards there is an overuse of flame preventative chemicals in furniture that have been linked to causing cancer. Over the past 20 years, the toxic chemicals used as fire retardants have been measured at increasing rates in humans, animals and the environment.

According to AB 706 these chemicals have the ability to travel through air, soil or water and build up in people’s bodies and the environment. In a study released in October 2007, California households have three to eight times the concentration of the chemicals in household dust compared to other states.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently found that house cats are retaining concentrated amounts of these chemicals in their bodies. In the last 30 years an increased number of cats have died from thyroid disorders, which according to the EPA could be tied to these chemicals.

“I’ve been a cat owner for 15-years and I never knew that my Emma is being exposed to harmful chemicals from our furniture. It makes me uneasy knowing that if my cat is affected I can also be affected,” said Christopher Jay Allen Rhodes, United States Air Force.

There is opposition to AB 706. A number of minority organizations including the California Black Chamber of Commerce and the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, are against the bill because it bans the most cost-effective options available for making upholstered furniture and bedding products flame retardant.

“The remaining options would significantly increase the cost of new products, driving low income consumers to cheaper, untreated imports or used products and placing them at greater risk of fire deaths and fire related injuries,” an unidentified minority organization told the California Green Chemistry Forum, which works to reduce the use of toxic substances so that they do not harm the public or contaminate the environment through initiatives such as the Green Chemistry Initiative.

According to the Making Our Milk Safe organization, a group working to eliminate the growing threat of toxic chemicals and industrial pollutants in human breast milk says that the Bromine Science Environment Forum is spending an estimated 10 million dollars to defeat AB 706. They believe that it is a sweeping ban of flame retardants that help prevent fires.

“About a year ago I heard about this issue dealing with chemicals that could possibly be in mattresses sold at Sleep Train. It won’t pass. It would be insane to change the whole process, and it would cost too much money,” said Tom Giannini, Sleep Train sales associate who is in opposition of AB 706.

Coleman Leonardo, another Sleep Train sales associate saw the bill as a good idea. " I support the bill to move the current chemicals, because it would help public health. You can't put a price on safety."

There are other chemical fire retardants that could be used under the terms of AB 706 according to an article by the Green Chemistry Forum. The article also states that the cost of these alternative chemicals would only be 15 percent more than the dangerous brominated and chlorinated fire retardant chemicals.

“There are a variety of alternative options that can be used to replace the toxic flame retardants,” said Shannan Velayas, Mark Leno’s press secretary.

“The technology is out there to find alternative fire retardants for furniture but these companies don’t want to use their time and resources to explore the alternatives,” said the Director of Governmental Affairs Legislative Advocate Afrack Vargas with the California State Firefighters’ Association.

In an article by the 13th Assembly District News, Leno explained how hundreds of firefighters are being affected by workplace related cancers. Crystal Golden-Jefferson, a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, died from workplace related non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma caused by toxic smoke inhalation. This bill was renamed as the Crystal Golden-Jefferson Furniture Safety and Fire prevention Act in honor of her and other fallen firefighters.

“The California State Firefighters’ Association is a strong supporter of fire safety and fire retardants but research shows that these chemicals are dangerous, especially to firefighters. Once the chemicals are burned they change form and can be related to various types of cancers,” said Vargas.

Like firefighters, other businesses that pertain to fire related instances are also affected by the chemicals.

“I’ve read about this bill in one of our cleaning magazines. If it passes it would have a huge impact on our team when we clean fire damages. When a fire starts, even a small fire, the entire room and sometimes the whole house is affected. Vents and doors cause smoke to travel throughout the house. The chemicals from the furniture are released into the air and they are dangerous for us all to inhale,” said Bill Siegriest, manager of ServiceMaster Clean, a fire and water damage cleaning company.

In Leno’s opinion there is a new approach to fire safety, his reason for authoring AB 706.

“The types of chemicals being used today have been linked to cancer birth defects and reproductive difficulties. This bill creates a smarter and improved fire safety standard for furniture while protecting our kids, workers and others from potentially dangerous exposure to toxic chemicals,” said Leno in a press release from the 13th Assembly District.