An Act To Reduce Contamination in the Home from the Release of Brominated Flame Retardants
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1488
Committee: Natural Resources
Amends: 38 MRSA §1609

Legislative Document 
No. 1488 
H.P.1050 
House of Representatives, March 19,2007 
An Act To Reduce Contamination in the Home from the Release of 
Brominated Flame Retardants 
Reported by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor for the Joint Standing Committee 
on Natural Resources pursuant to Public Law 2003, chapter 629. 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed under 
Joint Rule 218. 
Printed on recycled paper 
17/~ 
/J7·711~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §1609, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 629, § 1 is amended to read: 
§1609. Restrictions on sale and distribution of brominated flame retardants 
1. "Penta" mixture and "octa" mixture of polybrominated diphenyl ethers. 
Effective January 1, 2006, a person may not sell or offer to sell, or distribute for 
promotional purposes, a product containing more than ~ 
.1 % by mass of the "penta" or 
"octa" mixtures ofpolybrominated diphenyl ethers. 
I-A. "Deca" mixture of polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The limitations in this 
subsection apply to the sale and distribution of products containing the "deca" mixture of 
0 
polybrominated diphenyl ethers. 
A. Effective January 1, 2008, a person may not sell or offer to sell, or distribute for 
promotional purposes, a mattress, an article of furniture or any other product intended 
for household use if the product has a textile component containing more than .1 % by 
mass of the "deca" mixture ofpolybrominated diphenyl ethers. 
B. Effective January 1, 2012, a person may not sell or offer to sell, or distribute for 
promotional purposes, a television, computer or other electronic device if the exterior 
casing of the device contains more than .1 % by mass of the "deca" mixture of 
polybrominated diphenyl ethers. 
2. Review; report. The department, with the Department of Health and Human 
Services, Bureau of Realth Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 
review relevant risk assessments and other infonnation in connection with brominated 
flame retardants and their alternatives including, but not limited to, relevant findings and 
rulings by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the European Union. 
+fie By January 31, 2009 and every 2 years thereafter, the department shall armually, no 
later tRan January 5tR, submit a report regareing tRe reg\:llation of brominatee flame 
retardants summarizing the results of its review to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resources matters. For purposes of this 
subsection, "brominated flame retardant" means any chemical containing the element 
bromine that may be added to a plastic, foam or textile to inhibit flame fonnation. 
3. Application. This section does not apply to the sale of usee proeu6ts.~ 
A. Used products; 
B. Products if the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ether is due solely to the use 
ofrecyc1ed material; and 
C. Replacement parts that contain the "octa" or "penta" mixtures of polybrominated 
diphenyl ethers if the parts are for use in a product manufactured before January 1, 
2006. 
4. Enforcement. If there are grounds to suspect that a product is being offered for 
sale in violation of this section, the commissioner may request the manufacturer of the 
product to provide a certificate of compliance. Within 10 days of receipt of a request, the 
manufacturer shall: 
A. Provide the commissioner with a certificate attesting that the product complies 
with the requirements of this section; or 
B. Notify persons who sell the manufacturer's products in this State that the sale of 
the product is prohibited and provide the commissioner with a list of the names and 
addresses of those notified. 
Whenever it appears that a product has been sold, offered for sale or distributed in this 
State in violation of this section, the commissioner may take enforcement action in 
accordance with section 347-A against the product manufacturer. For the purpose of this 
section, the "manufacturer" is any person who manufactured the final product or whose 
brand name is affixed to the product. In the case of a product that was imported into the 
United States, "manufacturer" includes the importer or domestic distributor of the product 
if the person who manufactured or assembled the product or whose brand name is affixed 
to the product does not have a presence in the United States. 
SUMMARY 
This bill further restricts the sale of products containing a class of chemical flame 
retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The bill exempts products made 
from recycled material and certain replacement parts from the restrictions. The bill 
changes the reporting requirement on brominated flame retardants from annually to every 
years. The bill authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to require a 
manufacturer to provide a certificate of compliance if there are grounds to suspect that a 
product is being offered for sale in violation of the law.