Legislation Proposed to Ban Flame Retardants in Children’s Products

The Council of the District of Columbia has introduced the Carcinogenic Flame Retardant Prohibition Amendment Act of 2014 (B20-0971), a bill which, beginning July 1, 2015, would prohibit the use of any of nine specified flame retardants in children’s products (intended for children under the age of 12 years)  or residential upholstered furniture. Beginning July 1, 2016, the bill’s prohibitions would extend to all products, with exceptions as defined within the bill.

The United States Senate has introduced the Children and Firefighters Protection Act of 2014 (S.2811), a similar bill which, beginning one year after enactment, would restrict the content of 10 specified flame retardants in children’s products (intended for children 12 years of age or younger) and upholstered furniture to 1000 parts per million (ppm) total content by weight for any part of the product or furniture.

Both bills have been referred to committee and are in the earliest stages of the legislative process.  There is no indication of the likelihood of their passage at this time.

The table below identifies the flame retardants and restrictions under each bill.