Smokers who doze in bed have long benefited from the flame-retardant
deca-bromodiphenyleter (decaBDE), used in mattresses, upholstered furniture
and electronics. But Illinois legislators are pushing to ban it because deca
degrades into toxic chemicals -- something we didn't know two years ago -- and
doesn't stay put. Scientists have found it in household dust, food, human
blood, breast milk and even peregrine falcon eggs.
A child's developing brain is most vulnerable to decaBDE, just one reason
why House Bill 1421 should be passed this month when the legislature
reconvenes. Supported by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and
several fire-safety agencies, HB 1421 would prohibit the use of deca in home
furnishing and electronics casing by 2011.
The chemical industry maintains that deca is safe, despite mounting
evidence that it's not. It warns that alternatives might be even worse. And
from a commerce perspective, banning the sale and manufacture of products
containing deca would make Illinois an "economic island," according to the
Chemical Industry Council.
They're right; ideally, deca should be banned on a national level. Until
then, individual states should keep forging ahead, following the lead of
Washington state, whose legislature last week passed the first state ban.
