Prohibited Chemical Flame Retardants and Chemical Analogues
Effective May 9, 2025Mass. Register #1547MGL c. 21A, §§ 2, 8, 16 and 28 MGL 111, § 2CMassachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
- (1) A manufacturer or retailer shall not sell, offer or manufacture for sale, distribute in commerce or import into the Commonwealth a covered product that contains any chemical flame retardants or chemical analogues listed in 310 CMR 78.04(3), the combined total of which exceeds 1,000 parts per million for any component part of the covered product.
- (2) A manufacturer or retailer shall not sell, offer or manufacture for sale, distribute in commerce or import into the Commonwealth a covered product that contains any amount of an engineered nanoobject form of any chemical flame retardants or chemical analogues listed in 310 CMR 78.04(3).
(3) List of chemical flame retardants and chemical analogues.
- (a) Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) (CAS # 13674–87–8);
- (b) Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) (CAS # 115–96–8);
- (c) Antimony trioxide (CAS # 1309–64–4);
- (d) Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (CAS # 25637–99–4);
- (e) Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6- tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) (CAS # 26040–51–7);
- (f) 2-EthylhexYl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) (CAS # 183658– 27–7);
- (g) Chlorinated paraffins (CAS # 85535–84–8);
- (h) Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) (CAS # 13674–84–5);
- (i) PentaBDE (CAS # 32534-81-9);
- (j) OctaBDE (CAS # 32536-52-0); or
- (k) Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) (CAS # 79-94-7).
(4) Not less than every three years, the Department shall, in consultation with the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the TURA Science Advisory Board established in M.G.L. c. 21I, § 6 and other relevant state agencies identified by the Department, review, identify and recommend, if applicable, other chemical flame retardants that should be prohibited in covered products.
- (a) In recommending other chemical flame retardants to be prohibited, the Department shall determine through scientific documentation that the chemical flame retardant is known or reasonably anticipated to present a toxic hazard to people through one or more potential routes of exposure.
(b) A toxic hazard may include, but shall not be limited to:
- 1. harming the normal development of a fetus or child or causing other developmental toxicity;
- 2. causing cancer, genetic damage or reproductive harm;
- 3. disrupting the endocrine system;
- 4. damaging the nervous system, immune system or an organ or causing other systemic toxicity;
- 5. being persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic; or
- 6. having health and environmental impacts.
- (c) If the Department determines that a chemical flame retardant meets the conditions of 310 CMR 78.04(4)(a), within nine months of making the determination it shall promulgate regulations to prohibit the sale, distribution in commerce or importation into the Commonwealth of covered products that contain the prohibited chemical flame retardant in an amount that alone or in combination with any other listed chemical flame retardant or chemical analogue exceeds 1,000 parts per million for any component part of the covered product. If the chemical flame retardant is an engineered nanoobject, the covered product shall not contain the chemical flame retardant in any amount.
- (d) If the Department determines that a chemical flame retardant meets the conditions of 310 CMR 78.04(4)(a)), it shall send notice of the determination to the Joint Committee on Public Health.