Acting at MEC's request, State Representative Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) has introduced a bill to ban a toxic substance similar in characteristics to toxic PCBs.

House Bills 5775 and 5776 would require disclosure to the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) when any polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are released into the environment. The disclosure would require identification of the amount and in what products the chemical compound is found. The bill also bans the release of PBDEs after 2007, unless the DEQ finds no unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. In addition, the legislation makes releasing PBDEs or knowingly falsifying a disclosure statement a felony in Michigan.

"The European Union already has banned some PBDEs, and now Americans and Canadians have the highest concentration of these substances in our bodies," said Kolb. "PBDEs have been likened to PCBs in that they cause cancer, growth and developmental delays, and hormone disruption."

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were banned in the U.S. in 1976 after contaminating thousands of lakes and streams, the fish that swim in them, wildlife and millions of Americans. PBDEs are flame-retardants used in foam upholstery, computers, appliances, carpets, plastics, drapes and several other consumer products.

Levels of PBDEs in North Americans appear to be doubling every two to five years, says an Environment Canada researcher. A study published in 2001 found PBDEs in all 21 Lake Michigan salmon tested. Levels were some of the highest reported in the world.

MEC and the Ecology Center asked Kolb to introduce the bill after petitioning DEQ to issue a rule regulating PBDEs. In its reply, received in February, DEQ acknowledged a health concern but said it will only issue a rule after a consultative process that will take more than a year.

"We cannot afford the health risks associated with prolonged PBDE exposure," Kolb said. "My legislation provides immediate action by banning these substances within the next five years."

Like PCBs, many PBDEs persist for years in the food chain and can concentrate in the fatty tissues of humans and animals. Many health experts are concerned that the level of PBDEs around the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan has caused some of the chronic health problems experienced by more than 4,000 people who have come in contact with the air in the area.