New York Flame Retardant Ban

On December 31^st, 2021, the New York State governor approved bill S4630B to regulate and prohibit certain flame retardants in electronic displays, mattresses, and upholstered furniture. In addition, on January 24^th, 2022, the governor amended the flame retardant ban by signing bill S7737 which supplied further directives on selling products containing such chemicals.

What is a Flame Retardant? Why is there a Ban?

Flame retardants or fire retardants are substances added to products to inhibit or resist the spread of a fire. However, certain types of flame retardant chemicals can cause adverse human effects such as hormonal disruptions and can be persistent in the environment. For instance, these can include organohalogens, nanoscale, organophosphates, or organonitrogens. Consequently, a flame retardant ban is necessary.

Halogenated flame retardants entail an added risk. Indeed, there is a likelihood that an EU regulation called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) may apply. POP chemicals are halogenated organic compounds or organohalogens. They are often persistent and bioaccumulative, which may cause health and environmental concerns such as:

Disrupting the endocrine, immune, or neural systems.
Contribute to reproductive issues, cancer, and mutations.

Therefore, selling products containing POP chemicals above a permitted threshold is prohibited. In truth, they may be at risk of being withdrawn from the EU market.

Details on the New York Flame Retardant Ban

In this table, you may find important information about bills S4630B and S7737:

	Upholstered/Reupholstered Furniture and Mattresses	Electronic Displays (enclosures or stand)
Date of Effect	Prohibition: December 1^st, 2024	Prohibition: December 1^st, 2024 Reporting Obligation: December 21^st, 2022
Restricted Flame Retardants	Organohalogens Organophosphates Organonitrogens Nanoscale	Organohalogens
Requirement	Prohibition: The applicable flame retardants are intentionally added. The individual or sum concentration is greater or equal to the level set by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Custom upholstered furniture containing replacement components and intentionally added flame retardants are prohibited. The individual or sum concentration is greater or equal to the level set by the DEC to repair, reupholster, recover or renew furniture products.	Prohibition: The applicable flame retardants are intentionally added. The individual or sum concentration is greater or equal to the level set by the DEC. Reporting Obligation: Unless the manufacturer/supplier submitted an annual report declaring all flame retardants used in a product’s enclosure or stand, there is a prohibition of sale.
Exemptions	Non-Applicable	All-in-one video conference systems. Displays integrated with appliances that are non-available to be sold separately by end-users. Displays with a screen bigger than 100 cm² or 15.5 inches². Projectors and virtual reality headsets.

How is this the Low Enforced? What are the Penalties?

Naturally, those not following this New York ban on flame retardants are subject to civil penalties. Indeed, the following may occur:

A fine of up to $1,000 per day of violation for a first infringement.
A second violation could lead to a fine of up to $2,500 per day of the infraction.

How to Protect your Business from the Penalties of this Ban?

Consequently, to escape penalties, companies can undertake the following steps:

Audit your supply chain to ensure that your product complies with the ban and other environmental regulations such as POP.
Obtain confirmation of conformity from upstream suppliers. Feel free to use the Enviropass Product Environmental Compliance (EPEC) form.
Record and maintain all relevant documentation.
Do a risk assessment for missing information.
Lab test if needed.

Have more questions about this New York flame retardant ban? Contact Enviropass!