News Archive

20 november 2017

OFRs forbidden in the United States

CPSC published a guidance document on organohalogen flame retardants

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published guidelines on the hazardous additive, non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in certain consumer products.

The four categories of consumer products specified in the Commission document are:



  • infant or toddler products, toys, child articles with the exception of children’s car seats

  • upholstered furniture sold for use in residence

  • mattresses and mattress pads

  • plastic casing surrounding electronics


The CPSC urges the manufacturers of these consumer products to eliminate the use of OFRs to protect consumers, more especially children.
Further, the CPSC asks importers, distributors and retailers to obtain assurances from manufacturers that such products do not contain OFRs, recommending the same thing from consumers towards retailers.

OFRs are chemicals always used as additives to improve the resistence to fire of foams, textiles and polymers. According to CPSC, however, if used in a non-polymeric form they tend to migrate from product, with serious effects for those who came into contact with them: reproductive impairment, neurological impacts, genotoxicity, cancer, and more.

Currently, the CPSC has not banned OFRs in household products or required precautionary labelling for such products. But it seems very likely that this is the trend.

In 2015, a coalition of consumer advocates and health professionals petitioned the CPSC to declare the four categories of consumer products containing OFRs to be “banned hazardous substances” under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA).
On 20 September 2017, CPSC voted in favor of this petition, initiating the process of regulation.
An advisory panel will be soon convened to study the effects of these substances con consumers’ health and determine whether OFRs should be finally banned in the above consumer products.

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