Chemical manufacturers and industrial consumers of flame retardant chemicals are at odds over the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed test rule and significant new use rule (SNUR) for the class of substances known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a package intended to curtail most uses of decabrominated diphenyl ether (deca), particularly in products. The manufacturers -- who are seeking the rule to protect them from foreign competitors after they agreed to voluntarily phase out the chemicals -- are urging EPA to strengthen the proposed rule, saying the agency took so long to
December 29, 2025