Expanded Restriction of Flame Retardants in US State of Vermont

HONG KONG, China - July 25, 2013 - PRLog -- The new law also regulates the chlorinated flame retardants TCEP and TDCPP, also known as TRIS, in children’s products and residential upholstered furniture. The effective date for TCEP and TDCPP is dependent on the nature of the party and starts in January 2014.

Expanded Flame Retardants Regulation

In May 2009, SGS informed you that the US state of Vermont approved measures to regulate the brominated flame retardants Penta-BDE and Octa-BDE in consumer products as well as Deca-BDE in specific products (1).

On 16 June 2013, the governor of Vermont signed bill S 81 ‘An Act relating to the regulation of Octa-BDE, Penta-BDE, Deca-BDE and the flame retardant known as TRIS in consumer products’ into law to expand the scope of restriction of Deca-BDE to plastic shipping pallets and to regulate the chlorinated flame retardants TCEP and TDCPP in:

- Products for children under the age of 12 and
- Residential upholstered furniture (furniture intended for personal use that includes cushioning material covered by fabric or similar material).

Under the new law, a manufacturer shall not replace Deca-BDE, TCEP or TDCPP with a chemical that is classified as i or ii below by the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

i- Classified as ‘known’ or ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen’
ii- Identified as causing birth defects, hormone disruption, neurotoxicity, or harm to reproduction or development

The new law also directs the Commissioner of Health to see whether it is necessary to adopt by rule the restriction of the chlorinated flame retardant TCPP in children’s products and residential upholstered furniture.

Highlights of the existing and newly expanded law are summarized in a Table 1within the latest SafeGuards bulletin (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...).

List of Acronyms

- Deca-BDE: Decabromodiphenyl ether (CAS 1163-19-5)
- Octa-BDE: Octabromodipheny ether (CAS 32536-52-0)
- Penta-BDE: Pentabromodiphenyl ether (CAS 3253-81-9)
- TCEP: Tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (CAS 115-96-8)
- TCPP: Tris-(2-chloro-1-isopropyl) phosphate (CAS 13674-84-5)
- TDCPP: Tris-(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (CAS 13674-87-8)

Exemption

- Sale or resale of used products
- Motor vehicles or parts for use on motor vehicles and
- Building insulation materials

Reference:

(1) US state of Vermont bans consumer products containing brominated flame retardants (BFRs), SafeGuards Bulletin 116/09 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...),

About SGS Flammability Testing Services

Throughout a global network of laboratories, SGS is able to provide a wide range of services, including analytical testing, flammability tests (http://www.sgs.com/en/Consumer-Goods-Retail/Hardgoods/Hom...) and consultancy for flame retardants and other restricted substances in consumer products, including toys, childcare articles and upholstered furniture, for compliance with the US and worldwide requirements.

Please do not hesitate to contact an SGS expert for further information.

Contact details:

SGS Consumer Testing Services
HingWo Tsang
Senior Technical Services Manager
SGS Hong Kong Ltd.
5-8/F, 28/F, Metropole Square, 2 On Yiu Street, Siu Lek Yuen
Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China

t: +852 2774 7420
Email: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: http://www.sgs.com/en/Consumer-Goods-Retail/Hardgoods.aspx

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 75 000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1 500 offices and laboratories around the world.