Well-intentioned bill places consumers at risk

The very young, the elderly and the economically disadvantaged are at particularly high risk. Children under age 5 are nearly twice as likely to die in home fires as the average person, but their relative risk has been declining, and by 2002 was down to only 56 percent over the average. Older adults age 65 and older are more than twice as likely to die in home fires as the average person.

Currently being debated in Annapolis is House Bill 1, which bans one of the many cost-effective options for flame-retarding most household products. Remaining options would significantly increase the cost of new products, driving low-income consumers to cheaper, untreated imports or used products and placing them at greater risk of fire deaths and injuries.

Low-income and minority communities already bear a disproportionate share of fire-related deaths and injuries, in part because they lack the financial resources to invest in fire safety. HB1 would make a bad situation worse by placing adequately flame-retarded products further out of reach of these consumers.

Flame retardants save lives. The Home Safety Council reports that fires and burns are the third leading cause of deaths in the home, accounting for an average of 3,400 deaths per year from 1992-99. The National Association of State Fire Marshals reports that upholstered furniture accounts for 20 percent of all fire-related deaths each year in the U.S., claiming 10 lives each week. In California, following adoption of standards for upholstered furniture, fire fatality rates fell by more than 64 percent according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The only logical reason for reopening these standards is to make them more protective. HB1 would have the opposite effect.

Consumers would be better protected by aggressive enforcement of existing standards. Authorities have already reported a number of violations, many by companies located in China, Vietnam, Taiwan and elsewhere. This data demonstrates the need for a vigorous enforcement program with emphasis on importers to keep dangerous products out of the marketplace. Yet, HB1 will exacerbate our already understaffed enforcement efforts.

HB1, however well-intentioned, actually puts consumers at greater risk by placing a higher priority on theoretical health risks than actual fire deaths and injuries.

Harry C. Alford of Washington, D.C., is president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.