July 12, 2008
Environment Canada says a flame retardant known as deca is so dangerous that it is banning companies from manufacturing the compound, but it will continue to allow the chemical to be freely imported and used in such consumer products as television sets and car upholstery.
The unusual split decision - to allow a material into Canada but ban it from being made here - was published in regulations earlier this week, and reflects the intense pressure on Ottawa over the controversial chemical.
Although deca is not actually made in Canada, the chemical's foreign producers lobbied the government against the manufacturing ban - the first in the world - because the action might influence other governments. Car companies in Canada, meanwhile, lobbied to have continued access to deca to help them meet North American fire-safety standards for automobile interiors.
Deca is part of a family of chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, that are raising alarm among biologists because amounts are rising rapidly in wildlife. Environment Canada is introducing restrictions because it is worried the chemical is causing the "poisoning of wildlife," according to a regulatory statement published in the Canada Gazette.
"The prohibition on the manufacture of decaBDE ... will ensure that there are no future releases of PBDEs from the manufacture of decaBDE," Environment Canada said. "The import, sale, offer for sale and use of decaBDE is not prohibited under these regulations."
PBDEs are also a potential human-health concern because they're able to alter thyroid hormone levels and have a similar molecular shape to PCBs, a banned compound linked to reduced intelligence in children, as well as other adverse impacts. But Environment Canada said federal health authorities have concluded that levels in the tissues of Canadians are not yet high enough to harm health.
"It's toothless not to ban them," commented Elaine MacDonald, a scientist at Ecojustice, an advocacy group that yesterday wrote to Environment Minister John Baird slamming the government's decision to allow continued deca use. "The skeptic in me tells me that the industrialists are winning out on this."
But the makers of deca say the chemical doesn't pose any risk. "We support deca as being a safe product," said Dave Sanders, chairman of the Washington-based Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, an industry association of four major makers of the chemical.
Deca is added to plastics, which are made from petroleum and extremely flammable, to make them less likely to burst into flames. In televisions, deca is in the outside housings of the sets, which are made from high-impact polystyrene. Among its uses in cars are seats, wires and instrument panels.
Industry argues the use of the flame retardants saves lives by preventing or slowing fires, but critics of the chemical contend there are safer alternatives.
Two other varieties of PBDEs - used in such products as foam mattresses - were previously eliminated from use or sale in the Canadian market in 2006, following a decision by Environment Canada that they were so dangerous they met regulatory conditions for its toughest action: virtual elimination. However, deca, the only remaining type of PBDE on the market, breaks down in sunlight and in living things into the eliminated forms of the chemical.
Under Environment Canada's regulations, companies are also banned from making, using or importing the two other varieties, known as penta and octa, but the action is considered a formality because they're no longer available on the global market.
Environment Canada said it conducted a "comprehensive review" of the post-2005 scientific papers on the hazards posed by deca, which it expects to issue publicly later this summer in a peer-reviewed report. It said it will continue to examine new scientific studies to determine "whether further risk management measures are warranted."
According to Environment Canada, Sweden has a partial ban on deca when it occurs in levels higher than 0.1 per cent in textiles, furniture and some cables. A number of U.S. states also have restrictions.
The automobile industry, which lobbied for deca use, was a big winner in the decision, although it will face a stigma from using a material banned from domestic manufacturing.
Mark Nantais, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, said deca is an effective product that reduces fire risks during collisions. He said companies "are always looking for alternatives," but don't see substitutes as effective as deca currently on the market.
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