Coalition for Chemical Safety Blog

Chemical Safety Affects Us All

An article in Furniture Today reminds those in the furniture industry the importance of being involved with efforts to reform chemical safety standards. 

The reasons for this are twofold. First and foremost, like all other industries involved with CCS, we have a stake in chemical safety in order to protect ourselves, our families, our employees, and our customers.  We need the peace of mind knowing that a new law based on the latest research will minimize the threat posed by the chemicals that people in our industry are exposed to on a daily basis. After all, chemicals are used in the production of nearly all office and home furniture, from the butyl acetate-based lacquers and acrylic coatings used to protect wood furniture, to the polyurethane foam used to provide cushioning in chairs.

Secondly, the right approach to chemical safety reform has the potential to strengthen our business.  We will have more credibility with customers if they know that we adhere to modern, nationwide safety standards. Moreover, having one set of rules rather than a patchwork of wholly different, or even conflicting, state safety standards—as we have now—will make manufacturing, shipping and sales between states both safer and more cost effective.  And if the furniture industry is actively involved in the reform process, we can help to ensure that the new standards are conceived and applied fairly, so that a level playing field is maintained in our very competitive marketplace.

Because of the immense value chemicals play in the production and packaging of furniture, the furniture industry must support reform of TSCA so that all manufacturers are held to the same set of federal regulations in regard to safe chemical usage.  If we remain proactive on this issue, we can help inform the process and make certain that the chemicals that we rely on are fairly evaluated based on their proper use and comprehensive testing.  We owe as much to the communities we serve.

March 1, 2010 at 3:54 pm | Consumers, Jobs, TSCA Reform | 69No commenthttp://blog.coalitionforchemsafety.com/2010/03/chemical-safety-affects-us-all/Chemical+Safety+Affects+Us+All2010-03-01+20%3A54%3A51Joe+Householder You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.