Rhode Island Approves Less Stringent Flame Retardant Law for Upholstered Bedding and Furniture
From January 1, 2020, the governor of Rhodes Island, US, has approved changes to the law on flame retardants used in upholstered bedding and furniture.
- (1888PressRelease) August 19, 2019 - From January 1, 2020, the United States’ (US) state of Rhode Island is set to bring in a less stringent, amended law on organohalogen flame retardants in residential upholstered bedding and furniture.
Previous to this in 2017, bill S166 automatically became law without the Rhode Island governor’s signature. That bill, classified as Title 23 Chapter 23-26-3.1, restricts organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in residential upholstered bedding or furniture to no more than 100 ppm for each OFR. The new law has increased the limit to no more than 1,000 ppm.
What are the main changes?
On July 8, 2019, the governor signed the HB 5119 bill (Chapter 090, 2019) into law with several important provisions to be enforced from the start of next year:
• Including ‘OFR-containing fabrics’ as one of the materials required for compliance
• Clarifying OFR chemicals are additive flame-retardant chemicals (non-polymeric OFR chemicals)
• Excluding certain components in residential upholstered bedding or furniture
• Modifying the limit value for OFRs to become less stringent
• Clarifying that the latest prohibition (restriction) and any related regulations will not apply to products sold or in use before January 1, 2020
The 90 days provision requiring manufacturers of affected products to inform sellers of these products about the restrictions before the effective date of the restriction remains the same.
For a comprehensive overview of the differences between the requirements of the amendment and the existing law, view our original Safeguard 100/19: [www.sgs.com/en/news/2019/07/safeguards-10019-rhode-island-sets-higher-limit-values-for-flame-retardants]
What next?
SGS advises stakeholders to understand the latest updates to ensure that their residential upholstered bedding and furniture products abide by the new requirements.
We continue to be committed to providing information about development in regulations for consumer products, as a complimentary service. Through a global network of laboratories and offices, SGS provides a wide range of testing and evaluation services applicable to a comprehensive range of consumer products. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information.
Subscribe here, www.sgs.com/subscribesg, to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.
For more information, please contact:
Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
Email: crs.media ( @ ) sgs dot com
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail
About SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 97,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.
###
space
space
Satisfied Users & 
Approved Press Releases
Print
Email
Report Spam