Victim's kin backs flame-retardant ban
SAN FRANCISCO — In 2005, veteran Los Angeles County firefighter Crystal Golden-Jefferson died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. At first her death was a mystery: The 41-year-old Inglewood mother had always prided herself on her fitness.
But now Jefferson's parents believe long-term exposure to brominated chemicals used as flame retardants in household furniture foam caused their daughter's death.
Studies show that when burned, such compounds convert to brominated dioxin. Firefighters inhale the fumes and are exposed through soot contact with the skin.
Dioxins have been associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"Chemicals killed her," said James Golden, the firefighter's father. "These fire retardants in sofas and chairs: When they start to burn, bad things happen."
Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill last year to prohibit the use of brominated and chlorinated chemicals as furniture flame retardants. It passed in the Assembly but languished in the Senate.
Renamed last summer in honor of Golden-Jefferson, the legislation seeks to modify state furniture standards because the toxic compounds endanger not only firefighters but also consumers, Leno said.
The bill is scheduled for a Senate vote this year.
Critics of the legislation say that firefighters are subjected to all types of chemical fumes and that there is no solid evidence that brominated fire-retardant chemicals are worse than other agents.
"There are thousands of chemicals that burn in a fire, from plastics to what have you. How can you differentiate that the flame-retardant products are doing the damage?" asked Seth Jacobson, a spokesman for Californians for Fire Safety, which he acknowledged was partly funded by the chemical industry.
The existence of cancer-causing chemicals in household furniture has been debated for years, with environmentalists and industries that use the chemicals pointing to studies that back their claims.
Studies of animals that ingested the chemicals show that long-term exposure can cause cancer, reproductive difficulties and neurological problems, Leno said. There are no comparable human studies. But some research suggests that residue from the chemicals, used in the manufacture of polyurethane seat cushions, is released over time and settles into household dust, he said. The dust is then inhaled.
"We're poisoning our nation one sofa at a time," Leno said.
