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OFFICE OF THE MAYOR Gregory B. Lyman February 19, 2013 The Honorable Nancy Skinner Chair of the Assembly Rules Committee California State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: AB 127 (Skinner) – SUPPORT Dear Skinner: On behalf of the City of El Cerrito, I am writing to express my support for AB 127 (Skinner), the Safer Building Insulation bill. Specifically, AB 127 recognizes the potential adverse health effects surrounding the chemical flame retardants used in building insulation. If implemented, AB 127 will make building insulation safer and less toxic, without reducing fire safety for building occupants. The City of El Cerrito has a long history of supporting environmental initiatives. The City’s mission is to serve, lead and support our diverse community by providing exemplary and innovative services, public places and infrastructure, ensuring public safety and creating an economically and environmentally sustainable future. Use of plastic foam insulation in buildings is quite common for achieving energy efficiency goals, and flame retardant chemicals are added in an attempt to reduce fire risk. Unfortunately, research has found that these same flame retardants leach into our indoor environments. Here in California, the ubiquitous presence of flame retardants in our environments and in our bodies is well documented. We have higher levels of flame retardants in our bodies than anywhere else in the United States, and much higher levels than in Europe. The potential for these chemicals to adversely affect our health, and especially the health of our children, is cause for concern. Additionally, once the flame retardants do catch fire, they are toxic to breathe in, which can cause harm to emergency responders. Finally, there are no good ways to dispose of insulation with these flame retardants without further polluting our environment. Together these concerns are cause for action. Outdated building code requires both: that a thermal barrier is installed to provide fire protection, and that insulation passes a flammability test. In practice, the amount of flame retardant used does not help buildings meet the 15 minutes of protection needed, Agenda Item No. 5(E) ---PAGE BREAK--- Honorable Nancy Skinner Page 2 February 19, 2013 CITY HALL 10890 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530 Telephone (510) 215-4305 Fax (510) 215-4319 http://www.el-cerrito.org which is provided by the thermal barrier. Thus, safety for emergency responders is met solely by the presence of a thermal barrier, and the flame retardants provide no additional benefit. Given the existing requirement for a thermal barrier, there is no need to use flame retardants in plastic foam building insulation. AB 127 will reduce the use of these toxic chemicals, thereby avoiding human health and environmental impacts. We happily support AB 127. Sincerely, Gregory B. Lyman Mayor ---PAGE BREAK--- Nancy Skinner, AB 127: Safer Building Insulation Contact: Neela Babu, PhD (916) 319-2015 14-Jan-13 1 SUMMARY AB 127 will reduce chemical flame retard- ants in building insulation without reducing fire safety. Flame retardant chemicals are known to be toxic and, unfortunately, are ubiquitous in our homes. California is already acting to limit these chemicals in our furniture, and now is the time to get them out of our walls. BACKGROUND The use of plastic foam insulation in buildings has increased as building energy efficiency efforts have increased. However, due to the inherent flammability of plastic insulations, flame retardant chemicals – usually highly-toxic compounds called “organohalogens” – are added in an attempt to reduce fire risk. Unfortunately, research has found that these same flame retardants leach into our indoor environments. They are found at increasing levels in the human body and in the environment, creating significant health concerns for building occupants. Moreover, once the flame retardants do catch fire, they are toxic to breathe in, which will harm those emergency responders for whom the flame retardants were initially intended to protect. Finally, there are no good ways to dispose of insulation with these flame retardants. EXISTING LAW Current building code requires that a thermal barrier is installed to provide structural elements at least 15 minutes of protection from fire, and that insulation pass a test for flammability without the thermal barrier. In practice, the amount of flame retardant used does not help buildings meet the 15 minutes of protection needed, which is provided instead by the thermal barrier. Thus, safety for emergency responders is met solely by the presence of a thermal barrier and the flame retardants provide no additional benefit. Given the existing requirement for a thermal barrier, there is no need to use flame retardants in plastic foam building insulation. THIS BILL This bill states the intent to reduce flame retardants in plastic foam building insulation. SUPPORT US Green Building Council (Sponsor) Fact Sheet AB 127 – Skinner Safer Building Insulation Agenda Item No. 5(E) ---PAGE BREAK--- COMPLETE BILL HISTORY BILL NUMBER : A.B. No. 127 AUTHOR : Skinner TOPIC : Fire safety: fire retardants: building insulation. TYPE OF BILL : Active Non-Urgency Non-Appropriations Majority Vote Required Non-State-Mandated Local Program Non-Fiscal Non-Tax Levy BILL HISTORY 2013 Jan. 15 From printer. May be heard in committee February 14. Jan. 14 Read first time. To print. Page 1 of 1 AB 127 Assembly Bill - History 2/12/2013 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0101-0150/ab_127_bill_20130115_histo... Agenda Item No. 5(E) ---PAGE BREAK--- california legislature—2013–14 regular session ASSEMBLY BILL No. 127 Introduced by Assembly Member Skinner (Coauthor: Assembly Member Rendon) January 14, 2013 An act relating to fire safety. legislative counsel’s digest AB 127, as introduced, Skinner. Fire safety: fire retardants: building insulation. Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt regulations pertaining to urea formaldehyde foam insulation materials that are reasonably necessary to protect the public health and safety. Existing law provides that these regulations may include prohibition of the manufacture, sale, or installation of this insulation. Existing law also authorizes the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and Thermal Insulation to establish by regulation insulation material standards governing the quality of all insulation material sold or installed in the state. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would reduce the use of flame retardants in plastic foam building insulation. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. 99 Agenda Item No. 5(E) ---PAGE BREAK--- The people of the State of California do enact as follows: line 1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the line 2 following: line 3 To improve energy efficiency and to reduce global climate line 4 change, the use of plastic insulation materials, such as line 5 polyisocyanurate, and polyurethane, is increasing in buildings and line 6 especially in green buildings. line 7 In the United States, flammability requirements for plastic line 8 foam insulations and other building materials are incorporated into line 9 building codes and fire regulations for building materials. To meet line 10 these requirements, plastic insulation materials have flame-retardant line 11 chemicals added to them, usually as halogenated organic line 12 compounds with chlorine or bromine bonded to carbon. line 13 Studies have shown that these halogenated organic line 14 compounds are associated with neurological and developmental line 15 toxicity and endocrine disruption, and are possible carcinogens. line 16 Flame retardants, whose primary use is in building insulation, line 17 are found at increasing levels in household dust, human body fluids, line 18 and the environment. line 19 Code provisions regulating plastic foam insulations in line 20 buildings were first introduced in the early 1960s. Those code line 21 provisions do not specify that chemicals be added to foam plastic line 22 insulation, but in practice organohalogen flame-retardant line 23 compounds are added to meet test requirements. line 24 Despite these requirements, in the 1970s, serious fires line 25 occurred from exposed foam plastic insulation. To address this line 26 issue, the 1976 Uniform Building Code required plastic foam line 27 insulation to be protected by a thermal barrier, usually as or in the line 28 form of 0.5-inch-thick gypsum wallboard. line 29 Although the thermal barrier regulations have been deemed line 30 to be sufficient for fire safety, chemical flame retardants are still line 31 also required. line 32 Given the additional cost of adding flame-retardant chemicals line 33 to plastic foam building insulation, their potential adverse health line 34 and ecological impacts, and the sufficiency of the thermal barrier, line 35 it is important to question whether their use is a necessary line 36 requirement for improved fire safety. line 37 Therefore, it is in the best interest of the State of California line 38 to eliminate unnecessary chemicals from building insulation, while 99 — 2 — AB 127 ---PAGE BREAK--- line 1 preserving building fire safety and encouraging healthy building line 2 practices. line 3 SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation line 4 that would reduce the use of flame retardants in plastic foam line 5 building insulation while simultaneously ensuring that both fire line 6 safety and long-term human and ecological health are properly line 7 accounted for without a reduction in overall building fire safety. O 99 AB 127 — 3 —