State ban on flame retardant remains intact

A bill in Congress to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission won't include a provision to override a state law banning the use of a controversial flame retardant.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, won a promise from the bill's author that an amendment pre-empting the state's prohibition against polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) would not be added to the legislation.

The Senate Commerce Committee, on which Cantwell serves, is scheduled to vote on the bill today.

The legislation is the most significant revision of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) since 1990. It could affect thousands of products, including toys, all-terrain vehicles, furniture, mattresses and imports from China.

The bill would mandate more inspections by the safety agency and higher fines for breaking its rules.

Last week, manufacturers and retailers tried to insert a provision to pre-empt a law passed by the Washington state Legislature in April to ban the use or manufacture of PBDE.

The chemical — used in televisions, computers and building materials — has shown up in everything from Puget Sound water to women's breast milk to house dust.

Some divisions of the chemical industry had pushed for the provision pre-empting the state ban, but Cantwell persuaded Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark., the bill's sponsor, to stop them.

The National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation have been lobbying members of the Commerce Committee against the bill, Cantwell said.

It would raise fines on manufacturers who violate safety standards to as much as $100 million, from the current cap of $1.83 million, and increase the CPSC's budget for staff investigators.

Retailers contend that the bill would add onerous product-safety regulations. The Bush administration and CPSC officials say it would cost too much.

But advocacy groups such as the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, and Union of Concerned Scientists want to beef up the CPSC, particularly in light of dangerous toys and other products being imported from China.

"People believe the actual oversight by the agency has diminished," Cantwell said. "I think the bill has strong enforcement and penalties."

But the increased fines are controversial, as is a provision to allow the CPSC to make public internal information it gets from companies about defective products.

Cantwell, who serves on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, has proposed an amendment to increase safety warnings on charcoal briquettes and portable generators.

Eight Washingtonians died and more than 300 were treated for carbon-monoxide poisoning when they used charcoal grills and generators for heat inside their homes during power outages last December.

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com