[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2811 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2811
To prohibit the distribution in commerce of children's products and
upholstered furniture containing certain flame retardants, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 15, 2014
Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the distribution in commerce of children's products and
upholstered furniture containing certain flame retardants, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Children and Firefighters Protection
Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS CONTAINING SPECIFIED
FLAME RETARDANTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``children's
product'', ``consumer product'', ``distribute in commerce'',
``distributor'', ``import'', ``manufacturer'', ``retailer'', and
``United States'' have the meanings given such terms in section 3(a) of
the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)).
(b) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer,
distributor, or retailer to sell, offer for sale, manufacture for sale,
distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any children's
product or upholstered furniture that contains a flame retardant
specified in subsection (c) that exceeds 1,000 parts per million total
chemical content by weight for any part of the product or furniture.
(c) Specified Flame Retardants.--The flame retardants specified in
this subsection are the following:
(1) Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) (chemical
abstracts service number 13674-87-8).
(2) Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) (chemical abstracts
service number 115-1496-8).
(3) Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) (chemical abstracts
service number 79-94-7).
(4) Decabromodiphenyl ether (chemical abstracts service
number 1163-19-5).
(5) Antimony trioxide (chemical abstracts service number
1309-64-4).
(6) Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (chemical abstracts
service number 25637-99-4).
(7) Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH)
(chemical abstract service number 26040-51-7).
(8) 2-EthylhexYl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) (chemical
abstract service number 183658-27-7).
(9) Chlorinated paraffins (chemical abstract services
number 85535-84-8).
(10) Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) (chemical
abstract service number 13674-84-5).
(11) Such other chemical flame retardants as the Commission
may specify by rule under subsection (d)(5).
(d) Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel.--
(1) Appointment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall appoint a
chronic hazard advisory panel pursuant to the procedures of
section 28 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2077)
to study the effects on human health of all chemical flame
retardants as used in children's products or upholstered
furniture.
(2) Examination.--
(A) In general.--The panel shall, not later than
540 days after the date on which the panel is appointed
under paragraph (1), complete an examination of the
potential hazards and exposures for the full range of
chemical flame retardants that may be used in
children's products or upholstered furniture to meet
applicable fire safety standards and shall--
(i) examine potential health effects of the
chemical flame retardants, including--
(I) developmental toxicity;
(II) carcinogenicity, genetic
damage, or reproductive toxicity;
(III) endocrine disruption;
(IV) toxicity related to the
nervous system, immune system, or
organs or cause other systemic
toxicity; and
(V) whether they are--
(aa) persistent,
bioaccumulative, and toxic; or
(bb) very persistent and
very bioaccumulative;
(ii) consider the potential health effects
of such chemical flame retardants, both in
isolation and in combination with other flame
retardants;
(iii) examine biomonitoring studies that
document existing levels and likely future
levels of chemical flame retardants in
children, pregnant women, firefighters
(including combustion by-products of chemical
flame retardants), and others;
(iv) examine data and analysis regarding
the chemical flame retardants in household
dust, indoor air, or elsewhere in the home
environment;
(v) consider the cumulative effects of
total exposure to flame retardants, both from
children's products, upholstered furniture, and
from other sources, such as food, commercial
furniture, building insulation, and
electronics;
(vi) review all relevant data, including
the most recent, best-available, peer-reviewed,
scientific studies of these chemical flame
retardants that employ objective data
collection practices or employ other objective
methods;
(vii) consider the amounts of chemical
flame retardants used in consumer products and
the total volumes manufactured for use; and
(viii) consider possible similar health
effects of chemical flame retardants used in
children's products or upholstered furniture.
(3) Do novo.--The panel's examinations pursuant to this
subsection shall be conducted de novo. The findings and
conclusions of any previous chronic hazard advisory panel on
chemical flame retardants and other studies conducted by the
Commission shall be reviewed by the panel but shall not be
considered determinative.
(4) Report.--Not later than 180 days after completing its
examination, the panel appointed under paragraph (1) shall
submit to the Commission a report on the results of the
examination conducted under this section and shall make
recommendations to the Commission regarding any chemical flame
retardants (or combinations of chemical flame retardants) in
addition to those identified in paragraphs (1) through (10) of
subsection (c) that the panel determines should be prohibited
under subsection (b).
(5) Specification of additional chemical flame
retardants.--Not later than 180 days after receiving the report
of the panel under paragraph (4), the Commission shall--
(A) evaluate the findings of the chronic hazard
advisory panel regarding the examination carried out
under paragraph (2);
(B) evaluate the recommendations submitted by the
chronic hazard advisory panel under paragraph (4); and
(C) promulgate a final rule, based on the
evaluations carried out under subparagraphs (A) and (B)
of this paragraph, that specifies such chemical flame
retardants that are not listed in paragraphs (1)
through (10) of subsection (c) as the Commission
determines that the presence of such chemical flame
retardant in any part of a children's product or
upholstered furniture may cause substantial personal
injury or substantial illness, including--
(i) developmental or learning disabilities;
(ii) cancer;
(iii) endocrine disruption;
(iv) reproductive harm; or
(v) damage to the nervous system, immune
system, or organs or cause other systemic
toxicity.
(e) Treatment of Violation.--A violation of subsection (b) shall be
treated as a violation of section 19(a)(1) of the Consumer Product
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2068(a)(1)).
(f) Product Certification and Labeling.--A product subject to
subsection (b) of this section shall not be subject to section 14(a)(2)
of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)(2)) with respect
to testing for compliance with the requirements of this section.
(g) Rulemaking.--
(1) In general.--The Consumer Product Safety Commission
shall promulgate rules to carry out this section in accordance
with section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Exemption from certain requirements.--The requirements
of sections 7 and 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15
U.S.C. 2056 and 2058) shall not apply to a rulemaking under
this section.
(h) Relation to State Law.--This section shall not annul, alter, or
affect a provision of law of a State relating to the presence of a
chemical flame retardant in a children's product or upholstered
furniture except to the extent that such provision of law is
inconsistent with a provision of this section, and then only to the
extent of the inconsistency. For purposes of this section, a provision
of law of a State is not inconsistent with the provisions of this
section if the protection such provision of law affords any person is
greater than the protection provided under this section.
(i) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--This Act shall take effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act, except subsection (b) shall take
effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Applicability.--Subsection (b) shall apply with respect
to children's products and upholstered furniture manufactured
after the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
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