[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 24]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 33166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCING DECABROMINE ELIMINATION AND CONTROL ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHELLIE PINGREE

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 23, 2009

  Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Madam Speaker, I am very proud to introduce the 
Decabromine Elimination and Control Act today.
  Since 2005 there have been 44 state-based initiatives to ban 
brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), but only four have been signed 
into law, including one in my home state of Maine. That bill was 
sponsored by my daughter, Maine Speaker of the House Hannah Pingree, 
and passed by the Maine legislature.
  Today, I am honored to continue the long tradition of bringing good 
ideas from Maine to Washington.
  PBDEs are known endocrine disruptors, interfering with the 
transmission and regulation of thyroid and reproductive hormones. 
Exposure of infants to PBDEs is of particular concern because these 
chemicals have produced developmental neurotoxicity in laboratory 
animals, impairing memory, learning and behavior. Even more worrisome 
is the fact that breastfeeding infants are exposed to higher 
concentrations of PBDEs because of the presence of these chemicals in 
mother's milk. The time has come to remove this chemical from our 
children's toys and clothing. We must take immediate steps to ban this 
toxic and dangerous chemical.
  This bill phases out, and ultimately bans, the last hazardous type of 
PBDE, Decabromine, by 2013. It mandates disclosure of products 
containing Decabromine to the Environmental Protection Agency and 
requires safer alternatives to be created to replace this toxic 
chemical. I have worked closely with the International Association of 
Fire Fighters, the Environmental Working Group, Maine Department of 
Environmental Protection and Environmental Health Strategy Center to 
develop this important piece of legislation, and I greatly appreciate 
the contributions of each of these groups in getting us to this 
critical point.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the 111th Congress to 
pass this vital legislation and finally enact a long overdue ban on 
Decabromine.

                          ____________________