News & Insights: New York

On December 31, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a groundbreaking bipartisan bill restricting the use of flame retardants in furniture, mattresses, and electronic displays. While several states have passed similar legislation, New York is now the first in the U.S. to also include a prohibition on organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in electronic enclosures such as televisions. This new law mirrors a similar prohibition adopted by the European Union.

What a year! In 2021 states have once again stepped up and created incentives for safer chemistries, materials as well as protections from toxic chemicals. Using PFAS as a way to highlight the problem, states drove a big toxics agenda including pushing for a class-based restriction of toxic chemicals, transparency about what chemicals are in what products, and identification of safer materials and processes. 

The new book “Count Down” by environmental and reproductive epidemiologist Shanna Swan crystallizes just how dangerous endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates and bisphenols, are to human reproductive health – and even pose a threat to the potential survival of the human species. States have been leading the charge to combat these harmful chemicals.

While Safer States primarily focuses on stopping the use of toxic chemicals, another key aspect of our mission is to support the clean up of communities that have been impacted by toxic pollution. We are happy to report that we have seen many victories this year in this fight!

Welcome back to our celebration of the victories and momentum on toxic chemicals this year! Today we are highlighting important advocacy work from four states—California, New York, Minnesota and Washington—that is making a positive impact on the health and resilience of their communities. Their work pushed companies to move away from the most toxic chemicals and, in some cases, to also disclose information on whether or not certain toxic chemicals are in their products.

Thanks to the hard work of advocates all around the country, states are once again adopting much needed policies to protect their citizens from dangerous toxic chemicals.

States Should Move Quickly to Adopt Bans on Toxic Firefighting Foams Today Congress directed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow airports to use firefighting foam free of highly fluorinated chemicals or PFAS. PFAS-containing firefighting foam is responsible for the contamination of drinking water of millions of Americans across the country. If signed into law, […]

From Anchorage, AK to Greenburgh, NY to Albertsons’ hometown of Boise, ID, shoppers urged the company to turn up the heat on toxic chemicals this summer.