TOXIC HOT SEAT, A SHOCKING EXPOSÉ OF CHEMICAL FLAME RETARDANTS THAT PERMEATE OUR LIVES AND THE HARMFUL SUBSTANCES THEY RELEASE EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO Our Coverage Sponsored by Stribling and Associates
Star journalist Patricia Callahan of the Chicago Tribune
Thumbs up to you Patricia for going to the Secretary of State for public records!
-all photography courtesy HBO-
For over 30 years, Stribling and Associates has represented high-end residential real estate, specializing in the sale and rental of townhouses, condos, co-ops, and lofts throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and around the globe. Stribling has more than 200 professional brokers who use their respected expertise to provide personalized service to buyers and sellers at all price levels. A separate division, Stribling Private Brokerage, discreetly markets properties over $5 million, and commands a significant market share in this rarified sector of residential real estate. Stribling is the exclusive New York City affiliate of Savills, a leading global real estate advisor with over 200 office in 48 countries.
Check out their listings:
& their most recent State of the Market:
Whom You Know Congratulates their new President, Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan: http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/12/breaking-manhattan-real-estate-news.html
Be aware!
This documentary alone justifies freedom of the press.
HBO Documentaries has once again enlightened their audience with a topic we would have not considered: how toxic flame retardant substances are. Yes, everyone has a fear of fire (especially Peachy who was not great at the bunsen burner in middle school) - however when flame retardant chemicals are used, one must consider the pros and cons. It seems to us that the cons far outweigh the pros after consideration of all the facts.
Very interesting that the American Chemistry Council declined to be interviewed...
We meet many people from different walks of life that have been affected by these chemicals or fire in one way or another. Tony Stefani of the San Francisco fire department heard the words no one wants to hear- he got cancer from years of fires and coming into contact with these substances. Are such modern conveniences really worth it? Are we more likely to get cancer than we are to have a couch set aflame? In Manhattan it makes us wonder how much damage was really done to everyone that inhaled the aftermath of 9/11. We almost don't want to think about it but think we'd better after watching this.
We were most impressed by the intelligent reporting done by Patricia Callahan of the Chicago Tribune and her diligence and insightful commentary throughout this work.
Who knew there were 84,000 chemicals in use in the USA that are exempt from regulation and not tested for safety? Being safe and healthy is not a conservative or a liberal standpoint and should include all Democrats and Republicans and whatever views you hold. Americans should be as safe as possible and the EPA should have the funding to do their job properly.
It was amazing to see the soccer stadium in England burn totally in eight minutes and HBO was good at showing both sides of the story. 2,600 people die annually in residential fires in the USA that start with the ignition of upholstered furniture. With the chemical flame retardants in use, it takes furniture 15 times as long to burn as fast. However, the chemicals are much more harmful than you may realize.
What are we supposed to do? Stop using couches? How about our mattresses and pillows? We could go on but we are glad that HBO and these activists-both citizens and legislators-are talking about this and making us aware. The behavior of cigarette companies in this is typically deplorable, taking little responsibility, and they are a cause of fires.
We commend HBO for pulling tape from 60 Minutes, who also did a great job in addition to the Chicago Tribune on revealing what many of us did not know. Three companies make these flame retardant chemicals in their multi-billion dollar industry; it's time to put an end to their profit and make a new beginning for the better health of Americans.
Bravo HBO Documentaries once again!
Chemical flame retardants are everywhere. Our furniture. Our homes. Our bodies. Yet they don’t seem to stop fires. They do, however, seem to make us sick.
TOXIC HOT SEAT takes an in-depth look at a nexus of money, politics and power – and a courageous group of firefighters, mothers, journalists, scientists, politicians and activists as they fight to expose what they assert is a shadowy campaign of deception that has left a toxic legacy in America’s homes and bodies for nearly 40 years.
HBO2 playdates: Dec. 30 (2:30 p.m.)
HBO Documentary Films presents a weekly series this fall, debuting provocative new specials every Monday through Dec. 9. Other November films include: “Tales from the Organ Trade” (Nov. 4); “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” (Nov. 11); and “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley” (Nov. 18).
Set against the backdrop of the award-winning 2012 Chicago Tribune investigative series “Playing with Fire,” TOXIC HOT SEAT tells an intricate story, detailing how chemical companies that produce flame retardants spend millions of dollars on lobbyists, publicists and influencers, and how Big Tobacco had a hand in convincing fire-safety officials to back a standard that, in effect, requires all furniture to be filled with toxic flame retardants.
Known as California Technical Bulletin 117, the 1975 law was meant to reduce the escalating death rates from house fires caused by cigarettes. It mandated that all fabrics sold in California needed to contain flame retardants. To streamline operations, furniture makers opted to use the fire-retardant chemicals in all polyurethane foam-based furniture sold in the U.S., not just those items intended for sale in California.
TOXIC HOT SEAT shows how a handful of large chemical companies ended up being accused of obscuring public-health risks and misrepresenting chemical safety data by paying “experts” to alarm legislators and the public about the risk of removing chemical flame retardants from homes. In addition, the film highlights the argument that the tobacco industry effectively colluded with chemical companies back in the 1970s, lobbying for the use of chemical flame retardants in furniture, rather than developing a self-extinguishing cigarette, at a time when fires ignited by cigarettes were the main cause of home fires in the U.S.
TOXIC HOT SEAT features interviews with Chicago Tribune journalists and with brave citizens willing to fight for the truth against powerful industries, including:
Tony Stefani, a 30-year veteran of the San Francisco Fire Department who loved his job but had to quit when he found out he had a rare form of cancer. Tony was not alone. Firefighters are particularly vulnerable because of the toxic fumes caused by the burning of flame-retardant chemicals during fires. Among 40- to 50-year-old female firefighters in San Francisco, for example, the breast-cancer rate is six times the national average for that age group.
Dr. Arlene Blum, an award-winning chemist at U.C. Berkeley, who proved in the 1970s that flame retardants in pajamas showed up in children’s urine. Though they were subsequently banned in children’s clothing, flame retardants continue to be used in many other children’s products. High levels of flame retardants are linked to decreased fertility, cancer and learning problems.
Hannah Pingree, a former state representative in Maine, who had her chemical levels tested. Though she lives on a small island off the coast, the testing discovered flame retardants and other chemicals in her body that could harm her health. Her activism against flame retardants in furniture ultimately led to a statewide ban.
Director and producer Kirby Walker is an independent documentary and educational filmmaker-video producer. Director and producer James Redford’s other credits as a director include the 2012 HBO documentary “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia,” and as a producer, “Mann v. Ford,” which aired as part of the 2011 HBO Documentary Films summer series, as well as “The Kindness of Strangers,” which aired on HBO in 1999.
For more information, visit: Facebook: facebook.com/hbodocs; Twitter: @HBODocs #ToxicHotSeat.
TOXIC HOT SEAT is directed and produced by James Redford and Kirby Walker; editor, Jen Bradwell; cinematographers, John Kiffmeyer and Tylor Norwood; music by Daniel Lanois. For HBO: senior producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.
