Investigation Exposes Chemical Industry Front Group and Deceitful Tactics to Promote Toxic Flame Retardant Chemicals

SAN FRANCISCO, May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chicago Tribune began a shocking new investigative series Sunday on underhanded dealings by chemical corporations spending tens of millions on front groups and  "pay for play experts" to defeat restrictions on hazardous flame retardant chemicals. 

"I am glad to see 'Citizens for Fire Safety' exposed as the ugly sham they truly are," said Senator Sharon Nelson, Chair of the Senate Environment committee in Washington state and sponsor of the Toxic Free Kids Act.  "I am hopeful this will help raise awareness for real citizens about the dangers of these chemicals and help us get off the toxic treadmill once and for all."

"New policies are necessary to move these chemical corporations toward safer alternatives," said Kathy Curtis, Executive Director, Clean and Healthy New York and Alliance For Toxic-Free Fire Safety.

"A few big corporations fighting modern chemical regulations are hurting all businesses, especially small businesses," explains David Levine, CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council. "It's just good business sense to understand companies want certainty their goods are safe for their workers and customers."

"These same chemical companies have tried to oppose international restrictions," said Joseph DiGangi, Ph.D., IPEN. "Still, more than 170 countries agreed to ban three commercial flame retardant mixtures along with PCBs through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants."

"The flame retardant industry is desperate to retain profits from cancer-causing chemicals. They use scare tactics and spend millions to keep peddling their poisons," says Laurie Valeriano, Executive Director of Washington Toxics Coalition, a state group that worked to pass the first statewide ban on decaDE and supported a statewide ban on toxic tris flame retardants (TDCPP and TCEP) this year. "Companies like Johnson & Johnson, the Toy Industry Association, Wal-Mart, Target, and the Personal Care Products Council, did their bidding and opposed limits on these flame retardants in children's products."

"We must prevent use of toxic flame retardants at state and international levels because they are contaminating the global environment. They are widespread in the Arctic and found at high levels in the breast milk and blood of Arctic Indigenous women," said Pamela Miller, Executive Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics. 

Direct contact info http://toxicfreefiresafety.com/AFTFFSChiTrib5.08.12.php

SOURCE Alliance for Toxic Free Fire Safety