The UK government is running a consultation on proposed changes to the UK’s furniture fire safety regulation, which closes 23rd of June. If introduced, the changes will reduce the furniture sector’s reliance on flame retardants. CHEM Trust and other NGOs have been calling for these changes for years.
High use of chemical flame retardants in the UK is driven by fire safety regulation
Introduced in 1988, the UK Furniture and Fire Safety regulations are outdated compared to most of the world and are a key reason for high flame retardant use in the UK. The UK accounts for approximately 26% of the total global flame retardant use, according to the charity Fidra.
This is due to something called the ‘open flame test’, or the ‘match test’, which is a flammability test brought in as part of the 1988 regulations. To pass this test, furniture manufacturers in the UK tend to rely heavily on flame retardants.
The open flame test is not an effective determinant of fire safety
The UK’s open flame test is not in line with what many countries in the world require. In the EU, an alternative test called the ‘smoulder test’ is standard. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) released a report in 2023 which found that since the 1988 UK regulations were introduced, fire mortality rates have fallen at a similar rate in the EU as they have in the UK.
In the government’s proposed changes, the UK would replace the open flame test with the smoulder test, bringing the UK in line with the EU. This was also the recommendation made by the Environmental Audit Committee in 2019 in its report on ‘Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life’.
California replaced the open flame test with the smoulder test in 2013 and has not seen a notable change in furniture fire deaths. Spikes in fire deaths in California are instead largely attributable to an increase in wildfire deaths. This indicates that the UK would not experience an increase in furniture fire deaths if similar regulatory changes were made.
Chemical flame retardants pose serious risks to human health and the environment
Flame retardants pose a serious problem for human health. They migrate out of furniture and are released into the home and the environment. Some have been linked to health concerns, such as cancer and the disruption of the hormone system. Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified TCPP, a chlorinated organophosphate flame retardant, as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’. They have also been linked to serious developmental, behavioural and neurotoxic effects on young children.
Flame retardants have been found to have negative impacts on the health of wildlife and ecosystems. A 2023 map made by the Green Science Policy Institute shows that over 150 species of wildlife across every continent are contaminated with flame retardants. Studies included in the map found that pollution from flame retardants may be contributing to population declines and a variety of negative health impacts, including among species such as polar bears, red pandas, and killer whales.
We need stronger regulation on harmful flame retardants in the UK
CHEM Trust is pleased to see these proposals being brought forward by the UK government and fully supports their introduction. They will tackle a significant driver of flame retardants use in UK furniture.
However, to ensure that people and wildlife in the UK have robust protections in place against harmful chemicals like flame retardants, the UK government should align with EU regulation on chemicals. Since leaving the EU, the UK has fallen behind on chemical regulation and lacks the data and capacity to match the scale of the main EU regulator, EU REACH. The EU is currently advancing a restriction on a number of widely used chemical flame retardants, for which CHEM Trust has submitted evidence.
The UK government should work to align with this upcoming EU restriction on chemical flame retardants, and other restrictions on harmful chemicals, as soon as possible.
Read our full consultation response to the UK government here.
