2019-09-02 Bloomberg Businessweek

◼ Krypton $3 / liter 200-liter cylinder

flameretardantsincreasedsteadily

duringthattime,however,andin 2008

shereturnedtoscience,foundingthe

Green SciencePolicyInstitute. Her

advocacypaidoffin2017,whentheU.S.

ConsumerProductSafetyCommission

issuedwhatseemedlikea blowtothe

chemicalindustry,votingtobanorgano-

halogenflameretardants—thosecon-

tainingbromineandchlorine.Italso

recommended that consumers ask

retailersforproductswithoutthem.

Thecommissionmadeoneexception:

flameretardantsthatusedpolymers,

atomchainsthatformlargermolecules.

Atthe InternationalCode Council

meeting,heldina hotelinAlbuquerque,

Blumwasbackinga resolutionthatwould

givearchitectsandbuilderstherightto

installpolystyreneinsulationwithout

flameretardantsbeneathfoundations.

Clipboardinhand,shesquintedthrough

herpurple-framedglassesatthepanelists

andsaidthatusingthesechemicalsin

insulationdoesn’timprovefiresafety.

“This is corroborated in Norway,

Sweden,Finland, andSpain, where

flame-retardant-freeinsulationhasbeen

widelyusedwithoutincidentforaslong

as 18 years,”shesaid.Architects,fireand

combustion scientists, and a representa-

tive from the International Association

of Firefighters also spoke in support of

the measure. They argued that flame

retardants get into human blood and are

linked to health problems in firefighters

and the general population, and in insula-

tion they don’t even seem to delay blazes.

Then came the Energy Efficient Foam

Coalition, the North American Flame

Retardant Alliance, and representa-

tives from DuPont and Owens Corning,

all saying that newer, polymer-based

flame retardants are different. “It’s guilt

byassociation.Theyaretakingallflame

retardantsandtryingtosayit’sallbad,”

saidJohnO’Connor,a toxicologistwith

DuPont.Asit cametimetovote,a panel

memberwho’dbeena firefighterbecame

chokedup. “We’relosingtoo many

firefighters. We’re losing too many young

firefighters,” he said, eyes shining with

tears. The council agreed with the indus-

try, rejecting in a 10-to-1 vote the resolu-

tion Blum and others were supporting.

And so she has more mountains to

climb. Blum is concerned not only about

flame retardants in buildings but also

that the “bigger is better” logic of poly-

mers will see the retardants applied once

again to items such as clothing. Although

she acknowledges that polymers are less

likely to get into human cells, she says the

risk increases when they’re used in close

contact with skin. Israel Chemicals Ltd.,

which has a concession on the Dead Sea

and makes about a third of the world’s

bromine, has already said in regulatory

filings that it’s developed polymeric for-

mulationsnotonlyforinsulationandcir-

cuitboards,butfortextiles.“Polymers

are better, but not completelysafe,

becausetheycanbreakdownintomono-

mers,”Blumsays.“AndI nevermeta

brominatedmonomerthatI like.”<BW>

ChoyChunWa,52,hasbeen

workingalongsidea masterneon

maker,78-year-oldWongKinWah,

forthreedecades.Hemostly

focusesonfinishingthesigns.

Choysaysheworriesconstantly

thatthefactoryin Chinathat

producestheglasstubeswillstop

makingthembecauseoflack

ofdemand.“Thefuturedoesn’t

lookgood,”hesays.“Thebiggest

threattoourbusinesswithouta

doubtis LEDs.”

Wong’sbusiness,in thecity’s

MongKokneighborhood,once

included a team of assistants to

keep up with demand; in the 1980s

he even had a contract to make

signsforthelocalKentuckyFried

Chickenfranchises.

Today there are fewer than a

dozen neon masters like Wong

still in business. “I don’t know any

young people at all who are doing

this work,” Wong says.

36

Kr

Krypton HONG KONG LIGHTS

Aside from lighting, krypton

doesn’t have any commercial

uses. It emits a yellow-white

color, but the gas isn’t typically

used for the color. Krypton

is found in airport approach

lights and, less frequently,

in neon signs.

PhotographsandtextbyTommyTrenchard

44

Bloomberg Businessweek / SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

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