November 24, 2003—Metro announces the elimination of PBDE’s in upholstery foam to address environmental concerns. On August 9, 2003, a bill was signed into law making California the first state to regulate a class of chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE’s). These chemicals are routinely used as fire retardants in the hard and soft plastics used in everything from telephones and computer housings to mattresses and upholstery foam. They become an environmental concern after products containing these chemicals are discarded into landfill. Under Assembly Bill 302, no product containing these chemicals may be manufactured or distributed in California after 2007.
Metro has adopted a high resilience (HR) foam that is 100% free of PBDE’s, remains 100% free of VOC’s, and meets all of the requirements of California Technical Bulletin 117. Metro has opted to use fire retardant foam produced without any chemicals.
PBDE’s have been added as fire retardants to upholstery foam since the mid-1970’s. For the most part, absorption and accumulation of PBDE’s into the environment begins after the useful life of the product. As seating products containing these chemicals are discarded into landfill, the foam – exposed to sunlight and water – breaks down and the chemicals leach into the water system and ultimately into the food chain. Research on the long-term health risks is incomplete. PBDE’s are what are referred to as “persistent organic pollutants” (POP’s), which means they remain in the environment for years, accumulate in your body over a lifetime, and do not go away.
More information on PBDEs are available from The American Chemical Society.
