Chemicals target of state ban- December 5, 2005 Harmful flame retardant formulas increasingly found in environment, humans, study says The state departments of Ecology and Health will recommend that the 2006 state Legislature ban certain chemical flame retardants known as PBDEs. The chemicals, which reduce flammability in a variety of household products ranging from computers to furniture to carpets, are building up in the environment and in the bodies of humans at increasing rates, a just-released state study concludes. While the health...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001327.php State meets all federal clean-air standards- December 1, 2005 OLYMPIA &8212; Washington state has become the first state in the West, excluding Hawaii, to fully comply with federal clean-air requirements, authorities announced Wednesday. Only 12 states nationally have been certified by federal regulators as meeting the Environmental Protection Agency standards. Washington&8217;s full compliance became official Sept. 26, when the area around the Wallula pulp and paper mill &8212; between the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla &8212; was certified as meeting the...http://www.esw.org/news/archives/001326.php |