UFAC has launched a programme to test whether furniture “is free of the most common flame retardant chemicals” … without specifying which these are. The UFAC (Upholstered Furniture Action Council) programme, launched February 2020, appears to refer to the Duke University foam testing project which indicated in 2016 that it tests seven brominated FRs (below). It is not clear if this Duke information is up to date, and the UFAC website does not specify which flame retardants are tested in its programme, nor even how many. UFAC states that testing is initially limited to foams, but aims to expand also to upholstery. It is added on to UFAC’s existing “Make Life Safer” label for furniture manufacturers which verifies smoldering cigarette only fire safety resistance. UFAC’s supporting website claims that “many” flame retardants have a long list of adverse health effects covering nearly everything imaginable (endocrine and thyroid disruption, immune system, reproductive toxicity, cancer, foetal and child development, neurologic function and obesity) – supported by no references (the superscript “2” has no link).
pinfa considers irresponsible to launch and promote such testing with no clear indication of what is tested (which FRs) and with unsupported and misleading statements about flame retardants.
The seven brominated FRs tested under the Duke project: Firemaster 550, Firemaster 600, TDCIPP, TCIPP, V6, PentaBDE, TBPP (see here).
UFAC website: https://ufac.org/ and Duke foam project http://foam.pratt.duke.edu/