DECA BILL SUPPORTERS
Maine State Agencies
Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention
Maine DEP
Maine Fire Protection Professionals
Maine Fire Marshal
Maine Fire Protection Services Commission
Maine Fire Chiefs Association
Professional Firefighters
of Maine
Maine State Federation
of Firefighters
Maine Public Interest & Health Organizations
American Academy of Pediatrics – ME Chapter
American Lung Assoc. of Maine
American Nurses Assoc. - Maine Chapter
Appalachian Mountain Club
Atlantic Salmon Federation
Autism Society of Maine
Bicycle Coalition of Maine
Breastfeeding Center of ME
Conservation Law Fndn.
Environment Maine
Environment Northeast
Environmental Health Strategy Center
Friends of Casco Bay
Learning Disabilities Association of Maine
Maine Assoc. of Interdependent Neighborhoods
Maine Audubon
Maine Council of Churches’ Enviro. Justice Program
ME Council - Trout Unlimited
Maine Developmental Disabilities Council
Maine Equal Justice Partners
Maine Labor Group on Health
Maine LCV
MOFGA
Maine Parent Federation
Maine Parent Teacher Association
Maine People’s Alliance
Maine Public Health Association
Maine Rivers
Maine Women’s Lobby
Midwives of Maine
NRCM
Northern Forest Alliance
Physicians for Social Responsibility-ME Chapter
Portland Tenants Union
Sierra Club
Southern Maine Central Labor Council
The Ocean Conservancy
Toxics Action Center
DECA BILL OPPONENTS
Bromine Chemical Industry
Albemarle (Louisianna)
Chemtura (Connecticut)
Protect Maine Children from “Deca”: We Can Have Fire Protection Without Poisons
Flame retardants used in fabrics, foams, and various other plastics have helped to stop fires and save lives. However, the brominated ones are toxic. They can permanently damage brain and reproductive systems and cause learning disabilities in children.
Fortunately, there are effective flame retardants already in widespread use that are far safer and do not build up in people and animals or persist in the environment. The levels of brominated chemicals in people’s bodies are doubling every two to five years and are 40 times higher in North America than on other continents.
In 2004, the Legislature banned two dangerous brominated flame retardants. This session, legislators had the opportunity to protect Maine families by phasing out another one of these poisonous compounds, known as “Deca,” in electronics, and prohibit its use in new mattresses and home furniture.
The entire computer industry and some television makers already use safer alternatives that meet the highest fire safety standards without the use of Deca in the plastic casings. Mattresses do not need Deca to meet the tough new federal fire safety standards. Many safer options are available.
NRCM made it a priority to get legislation passed that will keep Deca out of our homes, our bodies, our children, and our wildlife.
Updates on the "Deca" bill
(6/14/2007) Deca bill signed by Governor Baldacci!
(5/24/2007) Deca bill passes the Senate. Today the Maine Senate voted 29-5 (with one abstention) to support LD 1658, a bill that would phase out the toxic flame retardant known as “deca,” in favor of safer alternatives. The bill, An Act to Protect Pregnant Women and Children from Toxic Chemicals Released into the Home, sponsored by Representative Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven), was unanimously approved by the Maine House on May 16.
The bill bans the use of the toxic flame retardant deca in mattresses and furniture on January 1, 2008 and phases out its use in televisions and other plastic-cased electronics by January 1, 2010.
(5/16/07) Deca bill passes the House! After lengthy deliberation in both the House Republican and Democratic Caucuses, the House passed LD 1658 unanimously!
As lead sponsor, House Majority Leader, Hannah Pingree (D-North Haven) championed the bill and implored House Democrats to vote to protect Maine kids from unnecessary exposure to toxic deca. Representative Jim Annis (R-Dover-Foxcroft) also made an impassioned speech to the House Republican caucus, explaining how he had originally been opposed to the bill, but now understood that it was the right thing to do for public health and fire safety.
Special thanks go to our partners in the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine and the Maine firefighters who have been strong allies and are working tirelessly with us to pass this bill.
Also, big thanks go to you, and all of our members who have contacted their legislators on this very important issue.
We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re coming in strong for Tuesday. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again everyone!
Matt Prindiville, Toxics Policy Advocate
(2/15/07) State Toxicologist Urges Lawmakers to Ban DECA - One of Maine’s leading environmental toxicology experts today explained to lawmakers that toxic flame retardant chemicals are building up rapidly in humans, particularly people living in the United States, and that these toxins may contribute to cancer, liver damage, reproductive difficulties, and learning disabilities in children. Deborah Rice, from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, further explained that concentrations of these chemicals are building up in wildlife worldwide. Dr. Rice, and staff from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), recommended that Maine require a phase out of the flame retardant known as “deca,” so that it is replaced with safer alternatives that already exist. Lobbyists representing the Louisiana-based flame retardant manufacturer Albemarle succeeded in getting one of their representative (Raymond Dawson) to give a 10 minute presentation to the Natural Resources Committee in advance of Dr. Rice. However, Dr. Dawson’s comments did not seem to be persuasive to Committee members. Dr. Dawson argued that we don’t have enough information about the substitutes for deca, although his company Albermarle is rapidly building a facility in Nanjing, China to manufacture the leading phosphorous-based flame retardants that are being substituted for deca. Perhaps Albermarle sees the writing on the wall.
(2/5/07) Maine Fire Commission Endorses Ban – The Maine Fire Protection Services Commission voted 15-1 to support a ban on a toxic flame retardant linked to learning disabilities, cancer and developmental disorders. The toxic flame retardant decaBDE is added to many TVs, mattresses, and upholstered furniture and is found in polar bears, breast milk and human blood. The Fire Protection Commission is made up of representatives from the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, the professional firefighters union, volunteer firefighters, legislators and state agencies. This vote sends a strong message that phasing out deca will protect public health while not affecting fire safety.
(1/29/07) DEP Report Confirms Safer Alternatives to DECA -- Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection submitted a report to the Legislature confirming that safe alternatives to decaBDE are available which ensure fire safety with lower risk to human health. The leading alternative is known by its acronym RDP. The report states that “RDP presents a significantly lower threat to human health and the environment than decaBDE.” The DEP report recommends that the Legislature ban the sale of TVs and other consumer electronics containing deca effective January 1, 2012. It also recommends that the Legislature ban the sale of mattresses and furniture with upholstering containing deca effective January 1, 2008.