Floor Finishing Products Get Their Hearing
On July 9 at 1 PM, four years after a devastating fire killed floor sander Tinh Huyn, industry, labor, environmental and community representatives headed to the State House to urge legislators to halt the use of the chemical responsible for the tragic death.
The broad-based panel testified before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security that the floor finishing chemicals targeted in recently filed legislation are extremely dangerous and unnecessary, as safer chemicals are widely available and just as effective.
Quynh Dang's father owns a floor sanding business that was involved with a floor finishing fire in Somerville that burned to death two workers and caused severe injuries to two others. "The lives of the families of the floor sanders changed that day, as did my families," Dang told the legislators. "This lacquer sealer is a dangerous product and the only way to make the industry safer is to prohibit its use." Filed by Representative Martin Walsh (Dorchester) and Senator Patricia Jehlen (Somerville), House Bill 2304/Senate Bill 949 prohibits the use of highly flammable wood floor finishing products that can ignite at temperatures of less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The measure was proposed by an industry-labor-community Floor Finishing Safety Task Force established by MassCOSH in response to the deaths of Huyn and two other floor sanders who were killed in a similar fire in Somerville. Since that time many more fires in the Commonwealth have been attributed to flammable floor finishing chemicals. With growing concerns about the fire risks involved in these products, the Metro Boston Arson Investigation Association, an association of state troopers and fire fighters, joined the Task Force in endorsing the bill. According to Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, MassCOSH executive director and a task force coordinator, “These flammable floor finishing products ignite at such low temperatures that simply employing safety measures, such as extinguishing pilot lights or not smoking, will not prevent all sparks that can ignite the vapors of these liquids.” The bill was voted favorably out of committee during the last legislative session, but it was too late for the bill to pass. “It’s urgent that we take immediate action to protect floor finishing workers and homeowners from fires and other hazards in this industry,” said Representative Walsh, the bill’s House sponsor. “I look forward to working with the Task Force and the legislature in passing a piece of legislation that will make the flooring industry safe for Massachusetts while keeping small businesses in business.” Senator Patricia Jehlen (Somerville) quickly became an advocate for floor finishing safety after the fire that took place in her legislative district. “This legislation is necessary to protect against the tragedies that have occurred in my district and across the state,” said Senator Jehlen. “Rather than placing both workers and the public in danger while forcing firefighters to deal with the consequences of dangerous and unnecessary chemicals, we should act quickly to prevent such fires from occurring in the first place by prohibiting dangerous and unnecessary flammable products from being used.” To lend your support to this legislation, email See Channel 5's coverage of the hearing.
Co-chair, Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
Room 167
State House
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Representative Costello:
I am writing to express my strong support for HB 2304, an act relative to floor finishing products and to thank you for your support of this bill during the previous legislative session. This bill takes a pragmatic approach to the widespread problem of fires in this industry caused by highly flammable floor products.
Numerous fires erupt each year in the Commonwealth as a result of the combustion of refinishing and sealing chemicals commonly used in the floor finishing industry. There are less flammable products that are available and are widely available, making these flammable products completely unnecessary.
It is time for
