| Des Plaines, IL – State Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) is thrilled that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with chemical manufacturers to phase out a toxic, endocrine- disrupting chemical, deca brominated diphenyl ether, otherwise known as Deca-BDE.
Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) migrate from their host products into the environment and eventually into our bodies, where they build up in the fat tissue of people and animals. Studies show that Deca-BDE breaks down over time into more toxic forms, Penta-BDE and Octa-BDE, both of which have been determined to have serious negative health effects.
“The Illinois General Assembly has worked for years to eliminate these chemicals because their use in products exposes Illinoisans to toxics,” said State Representative Elaine Nekritz, who has sponsored legislation to ban decaBDE in the Illinois Legislature. “State legislators across the country raised the alarm before the federal government was acting, and now it's paying off. I'm heartened that the U.S. EPA and the chemical companies are moving to protect public health from this chemical.”
According to the EPA, the two largest American producers and largest American importer of Deca-BDE have “committed to end production, importation, and sales of Deca-BDE for most uses in the United States by December 31, 2012, and to end all uses by the end of 2013.”
“This is a victory for people, the environment, and Lake Michigan” said Max Muller, Program Director at Environment Illinois. “People trust that products manufactured and sold in the United States are safe, but chemicals like decaBDE indicate otherwise. Scientific studies demonstrate decaBDE's neurological and reproductive health effects may already be impacting human health and wildlife. Alternatives are available. We applaud its phase-out.”
EPA's announcement is available here:
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/deccadbe.html
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