Dec 22 - U.S. To Phase Out Cancerous Flame Retardant Chemical by 2013
The US manufacturers of flame retardant chemical Deca-BDE have agreed to phase out production under a deal with US federal regulators.
Under a deal with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Chemtura and Albemarle Corp., Deca’s two U.S. producers, and ICL Industrial Products Inc., the largest US importer, will end all use of the chemical by late 2013.
Even though the deca phaseout in the US does not ban the importation of products with the compound, activists said the move was still significant as Deca-BDE is persistent in the environment, and is potentially cancer-causing.