A06260 Summary:

BILL NOA06260A
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06512
 
SPONSORGunther
 
COSPNSRMagnarelli, Buttenschon, Wallace, D'Urso, Bronson, McDonald, Steck, Manktelow, Mosley, Rosenthal L, Thiele, Ortiz, Colton, Williams, Galef, Gottfried, Barron, Reyes, Griffin, Stirpe, Jacobson, Carroll, Seawright, Glick, DeStefano, Hunter
 
MLTSPNSREnglebright
 
Add Art 37 Title 9 §§37-0901 & 37-0903, En Con L
 
Prohibits the use of chemical flame retardants on residential upholstered furniture beginning July first, 2020.
Go to top    

A06260 Actions:

BILL NOA06260A
 
03/04/2019referred to environmental conservation
05/29/2019reported referred to codes
06/04/2019reported referred to rules
06/11/2019reported
06/11/2019rules report cal.147
06/11/2019ordered to third reading rules cal.147
06/14/2019amended on third reading 6260a
01/08/2020ordered to third reading cal.233
Go to top

A06260 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6260A
 
SPONSOR: Gunther
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of chemical flame retardants   PURPOSE: The purpose of this bill is to limit residential exposure to chemical flame retardants and to increase fire safety.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends Article 37 of the Environmental Conservation Law by adding a new Title 9, entitled Chemical Flame Retardants. This title defines "chemical flame retardants," and prohibits the use of chemical flame retardants in residential upholstered furniture Section 2 is the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: The objective of this bill is to prohibit the use of chemical flame retardants on residential upholstered furniture because of their propen- sity to combust with rapidity, as well as their adverse health conse- quences. These retardants are ineffective in preventing the spread of fires and, more importantly, when combusted the chemicals that are released form harmful byproducts that have the potential to affect the health of firefighters, especially female firefighters. Recent studies have shown that approximately 94 percent of couches manufactured after 2005 contain chemical flame retardants. The amount of chemical flame retardants present in this type of upholstered furniture is capable of being measured in pounds. Flame retardant chemicals were added to upholstered furniture in response to a 1975 California flammability standard study, which was conducted in response to concerns about the large number of cigarette fires. However, the increased sale of flame-retardant chemicals has not eradicated this issue because the chemicals are so ineffective. The Chicago Tribune quoted an author of one study as saying, "the fire just laughs at it." The vast majority of furniture sold in the United States meets the Cali- fornia standard due to California's large market share. However, scien- tific studies have demonstrated that meeting the requirements of the California standard does not accurately reflect real-world fire behav- ior. A study conducted by the United States Department of Commerce National Bureau of Standards found that there were no significant differences in fire resistance between treated and untreated foams. Not only are chemical flame retardants ineffective, they pose dangerous health risks when used daily as well as when ignited. During normal use, chemical flame retardants migrate out of furniture and into household dust. Toddlers typically show three times the level of flame retardants in their blood streams as their parents because of their tendency to put household items in their mouth. This exposure is on top of what babies are born with. Furthermore, some chemical retardants are suspected as carcinogenic. When combusted, chemical flame retardants can form harmful by-products that have potential adverse health risks to firefighters. A recent study in San Francisco found that firefighters had two to three times the rate of flame retardants in their blood stream than the aver- age. 110 female firefighters in the study experienced a risk of breast cancer that was nearly six times higher than the general population. Upholstered furniture can be highly volatile when ignited and has become a leading cause of firefighter and household deaths because of the rapid propensity to reach an inflamed, all-consumed stage, called flashover. Statistics demonstrate that when firefighters are able to arrive at a scene before the contents of a room have reached flashover, a fire is able to be contained.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2017-2018: A3368A Cal. 266/S742A referred to Environmental Conservation 2015-2016: S.3844-A/A 7837-A Passed Assembly. 2013-2014: A.6557 Passed Assembly. A.6557 of 2013-2014: Passed Assembly   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of environmental conservation is authorized to promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on or before such effective date.
Go to top

A06260 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         6260--A
                                                                   R. R. 147
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      March 4, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GUNTHER,  MAGNARELLI,  BUTTENSCHON, WALLACE,
          D'URSO, BRONSON, McDONALD,  STECK,  MANKTELOW,  MOSLEY,  L. ROSENTHAL,
          THIELE,  ORTIZ,  COLTON,  WILLIAMS, GALEF, GOTTFRIED, BARRON -- Multi-
          Sponsored by -- M. of A.  ENGLEBRIGHT -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Environmental Conservation -- reported  and  referred  to
          the  Committee  on  Codes -- reported and referred to the Committee on
          Rules -- amended on  the  special  order  of  third  reading,  ordered
          reprinted  as  amended,  retaining  its  place on the special order of
          third reading
 
        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          prohibiting the use of chemical flame retardants
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1.   Article 37  of  the  environmental  conservation  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new title 9 to read as follows:
     3                                   TITLE 9
     4                          CHEMICAL FLAME RETARDANTS
     5  Section 37-0901. Definitions.
     6          37-0903. Prohibition on the use of chemical flame retardants.
     7  § 37-0901. Definitions. As used in this title:
     8    1.  "Chemical  flame  retardants"  shall mean any halogenated chemical
     9  flame retardant, including but not limited to TDCPP Tris (1, 3  Dicholo-
    10  ro-2-propyl) phosphate, and any Phosphorus-Bromine flame retardants.
    11    2.  "Residential  upholstered  furniture" shall mean a sofa, loveseat,
    12  chair, ottoman, footstool, or other  item  of  furniture,  intended  for
    13  indoor  use  in  a  home that consists, in whole or in part, of leather,
    14  plastic, fabric or other material that contains cotton,  wool,  polyure-
    15  thane  or other natural or synthetic material that is placed in cushions
    16  or on the frame of the furniture.
    17  § 37-0903. Prohibition on the use of chemical flame retardants.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03674-02-9

        A. 6260--A                          2
 
     1    1. Beginning July first, two thousand twenty, no person,  firm,  part-
     2  nership,  association,  limited  liability  company or corporation shall
     3  sell or offer  for  sale  any  residential  upholstered  furniture  that
     4  contains  chemical  flame  retardants  intentionally-added  in  order to
     5  provide  a  specific characteristic, appearance or quality, to perform a
     6  specific function, or for any other purpose.
     7    2. The provisions of this section shall  not  apply  to  the  sale  or
     8  distribution  of residential upholstered furniture resold or offered for
     9  resale, or distributed by consumers for consumer use.
    10    § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    11  have  become  a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of environ-
    12  mental conservation is authorized to  promulgate  any  rules  and  regu-
    13  lations  necessary  to implement the provisions of this act on or before
    14  such effective date.
Go to top

A06260 LFIN:

 NO LFIN
Go to top