(Sacramento, CA) – Speaker pro Tempore Sally Lieber (D-San Jose) has introduced a three-bill package designed to protect workers and consumers from exposure to dangerous chemicals.  The first bill would ban the use of the lung-damaging diacetyl in the workplace, a chemical used in artificial butter flavoring which can cause a respiratory disease known as “popcorn lung” when inhaled.  The second bill would prohibit the manufacture or distribution of decaDBE, a flame retardant used primarily in television components, which has been suspected of causing cancer and reproductive harm. The third bill would strengthen standards for workplace exposure to cancer causing chemicals.

“Our existing chemical policies do not adequately protect Californians from toxics,” stated Lieber.  “As researchers uncover the dangers associated with chemicals already on the market, we must react to protect those citizens who are most at risk.”

A.B. 514 requires the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) to adopt a standard banning the use of diacetyl in the workplace by 2010.  Diacetyl is a chemical used in artificial butter and other food flavorings, and it is associated with bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as “popcorn lung,” a debilitating and sometimes fatal respiratory disease.  Eight flavor manufacturing workers in California, all of whom are young, non-smoking Latinos, have developed or are suspected to have developed the disease as a result of inhalation of the chemical.  According to the California Department of Health Services, most are severely impaired, cannot work, and suffer extreme shortness of breath.  At least one worker is currently awaiting lung transplantation.

“This devastating lung disease tragically highlights the fact that workers are often exposed to hazardous chemicals without the same protections afforded to the general population,” said Lieber.  “For the safety of their employees, manufacturers must make use of the safer alternatives to diacetyl that are available on the market.”

Dr. John Balmes, professor of medicine at the University of California, Berkeley, explains, “Diacetyl is very harmful to the lungs and has caused serious disability and even death among exposed workers.  Employers who use diacetyl in food flavorings or food manufacturing should use less toxic substitutes.  This will prevent more cases of bronchiolitis obliterans from happening in the future."

A.B. 513 phases out the use of decaBDE a type of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE).  DecaDBE is a ubiquitous flame retardant found in electronics, furniture, and automobiles.  If the bill passes, after 2011, no decaBDE will be permitted to be manufactured, processed or distributed in a product in the state containing more than one-tenth of one percent by mass. 

Bill Walker, Vice President of the Environmental Working Group, stated that “California was the first state to ban two other types of brominated flame retardants, and now the evidence is clear that deca also has to go.  Just as it did five years ago, California's leadership on this issue can point the way for a nationwide ban on this dangerous chemical."

Considered to be “possible human carcinogen” by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PDBEs persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in the tissue of wildlife and humans. It is found in particularly high concentrations in human breast milk; additionally, there is evidence that PBDEs may interfere with regulation of endocrine function, including thyroid and reproductive function; nervous system function, including neurochemistry and behavior; and in immune system and liver function.  Further, a study released in February 2007 revealed that decaBDE bioaccumulates in birds of prey in much higher concentrations than previously thought. 

In 2003, the state banned the manufacture or distribution of pentaBDE and octaBDE, two other forms of PBDEs.  Since then, it has been discovered that decaDBE likely degrades into these two forms via exposure to sunlight. 

“This is particularly alarming, especially since decaDBE has been measured in high concentrations in indoor dust; small children have a tendency to put dirty hands and toys in their mouths and become exposed to the chemical,” said Lieber.  “As a result, the break-down of decaBDE may ultimately frustrate the intent of the state ban on pentaBDE and octaBDE.”

"It is clear that deca is a very dangerous chemical; it is contaminating the food chain at high levels and breaking down into its highly toxic cousins.  Deca needs to be banned, and the search for suitable alternatives needs to begin," said Jane Williams, Executive Director of California Communities Against Toxics.

And finally, A.B. 515 requires the Board to adopt revised or new workplace standards for chemical exposures based on health risk assessments previously prepared by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).  Currently, OEHHA uses risk assessments to protect community members who live near industries that make use of toxic chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm.  Since OEHHA does not currently monitor the industry facilities, however, workers may not be receiving the same level of protection as the surrounding environment.