Rep. D’Amelio,
Sen. Kane Tour Chemtura Corporation in Middlebury; Meet
with Company Officials
State Representative Anthony J. D’Amelio,
and state Senator Rob Kane Thursday toured the Chemtura
Corporation’s world headquarters in Middlebury and
met with company officials to discuss the 2009 session
of the Connecticut General Assembly and how legislation
that may be proposed could affect the company.
During their visit, the legislators met with Chemtura
Chairman and CEO Robert Wood, David Sanders, Chemtura’s
Director of Advocacy, and Vice President for Government
Relations Lloyd Moon.
The Chemtura Corporation is one of the three largest producers
of the chemical deca polybrominated diphenyl ether, commonly
known as deca-PBDE. A measure to ban the use of the substance
was approved by the state legislature’s Environment
Committee during the 2008 legislative session, but died
in the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, said Representative
D’Amelio, R-71st District, and Senator Kane, R-32nd
District.
Deca-PBDE was the sole focus of a 10 year risk assessment
conducted by the European Union. It also has been analyzed
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National
Academy of Sciences and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
All reached the same conclusion: that deca-PBDE does not
pose a risk to human health or the environment and is
safe for continued use, the legislators said.
“If Connecticut bans deca-PBDE, neighboring states
that do not restrict use of the substance will try to
convince Chemtura officials to move their world headquarters
to their states, placing the jobs of the approximately
600 state residents currently employed at Chemtura at
risk. If the legislation should pass next year, it could
force another major employer to leave our state –
even though there is no credible evidence that would justify
a statewide ban on deca-PBDE,” Representative D’Amelio
said.
"It was a great privilege to tour the Chemtura facility
and meet with so many of its hardworking employees, many
of whom reside in nearby communities," said Senator
Kane. "With nearly 600 employees, Chemtura has developed
a strong partnership with the Town of Middlebury. I am
very much committed to making sure that as a state we
do everything we can to help reinforce this partnership.
Deca-PBDE is the most widely-studied and most effective
flame retardant on the market today. It is one of the
components used in the manufacture of mattresses, upholstered
furniture, televisions and computers. It is not a toxic
substance.”
“Deca-PBDE is an effective, safe flame retardant
which has been credited with saving countless numbers
of lives - including the 309 passengers and crew aboard
an Air France aircraft that overshot a runway in Canada
in 2005. The plane crashed and burst into flames. Everyone
escaped unharmed because the flame retardant slowed the
spread of fire,” Representative D’Amelio said.
“When flame retardants are not present, fires can
ignite and spread rapidly, leading to significant loss
of life – which is what happened in the tragic Rhode
Island nightclub fire in 2003.”
