Blog

As a recent media story from KQED, “The Political Firestorm Inside Your Sofa,” points out, California is usually seen as a state that leads on environmental issues. In the case of state law TB 117, the state seems a dangerous dinosaur, risking public health for an outdated fire safety policy. TB 117 is under scrutiny from scientists, firefighters, doctors and furniture manufacturers for requiring foam in furniture to be treated with carcinogenic flame retardant chemicals. In this case, California’s influence is not cause for celebration: national furniture manufacturers distribute products laden with pounds of flame retardants throughout the U.S. and Canada to comply with our state law. Head over to KQED for the text and audio on the dangers of flame retardants, the law, and efforts to change it: http://science.kqed.org/quest/audio/the-political-firestorm-inside-your-sofa/