California's current flammability standards are nearly 40 years old. Governor Brown has directed regulators to revise them, saying "a growing body of evidence" suggests that the flame retardants currently in use are harmful to human health and the environment. Arlene Blum of UC Berkeley heads up the Green Science Policy Institute. She says the retardants currently used in furniture, car seats, high chairs and other products are harmful - and almost impossible to avoid:
BLUM: "So you eat your organic food but you're sitting on a couch that might have a pound of a chemical like DDT and PCB's in it and the chemicals are coming out continuously and they're going into dust and they're ending up in us, in our children, in our pets and wildlife."