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BOSTON — Flame retardants are used in a range of products from children’s clothes and toys, to furniture and electronics, and over the years they’ve gotten credit for saving lives and property.

But fire-slowing chemicals are also linked to health problems — including cancer, birth defects and nervous-system damage — particularly among firefighters and other first-responders.

Last year, state lawmakers approved a bill banning nearly a dozen flame-retardant chemicals used in children’s products, furniture, carpeting, window curtains and other common household products.

The measure, which was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker, prohibits the manufacture, sale or distribution of household products that contain any of the 11 now-banned chemical flame retardants or analogues in levels higher than 1,000 parts-per-million. Companies that violate the new law face hefty fines and other sanctions.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has spent much of the past year finalizing regulations for the new law, which were subject of a public hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Supporters of the restrictions say they are long overdue, and point to studies suggesting flame-retardant chemicals are a health threat that actually does little good.

“What has come out is an accurate representation of the law and appropriate,” Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts director for the environmental group Clean Water Action, said during Tuesday’s hearing. “We ask that they move forward as quickly as possible to protect public health, without delay or any significant changes.”

But the new law is meeting with resistance from the window treatment industry, which says the ban on one flame-retardant chemical — antimony trioxide — which has been used for decades in blinds, curtains and other drapery will cost jobs and hurt businesses.

Christopher Kruger, a representative of the Window Covering Manufacturers Association, said while the industry is working to come up with an alternatives there is no substitute for the chemical that meets federal flame retardant requirements. He said the ban will create “significant hardships” for the industry.

“These hardships would includes the loss of business, customers and massive logistical challenges,” he said.

He said Massachusetts is the only state to ban antimony trioxide in window products, asking state regulators to exempt commercial window treatments or delay implementation of the rules to give the industry more time to comply.

But Saunders, of Clean Water Action, said the industry has had more than a year to prepare for the changes and urged regulators not to delay the law.

“The law has been on the books since January 2021, so there’s been some time for folks to know this was coming,” she said.

Massachusetts has joined at least 16 states — including California, Maine, New York and Vermont — to ban flame-retardant products in a range of consumer products, while a dozen other states are considering similar restrictions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Many furniture makers and retailers are moving away from flame retardants, in part to comply with California’s strict ban on the use of them.

Under the federal “flammability” standard, upholstery fabric must resist a smoldering cigarette, which statistics indicate is the primary cause of residential fires involving furniture.

But the chemical industry has been fighting back to protect a multibillion-dollar market that reaches into nearly every American home. In some states, the industry is suing to block laws that seek to keep flame retardants off the market or require labeling of new products.

The chemical industry points to data showing that fires and fire-related deaths have dropped over the past 40 years, and suggest that a major contributor is the development of flame retardants.

Advocates for banning flame retardants say the chemical industry often finds a way around restrictions imposed by states by merely adjusting the compounds it uses or lobbying for exemptions to the rules.

The regulations allow MassDEP to conduct a review every three years to identify and recommend other chemical flame retardants “that present a toxic hazard” for inclusion in the ban.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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