AUGUSTA (AP) – A newspaper, television and radio advertising blitz targets a bill before the Legislature that would make Maine the next state to phase out the use of certain flame retardants in furniture and plastic-covered consumer products.

The bill, similar to one signed into law Tuesday by Washington’s governor, is supported by the state fire marshal and firefighters’ associations. But full-page ads that have been appearing in Maine newspapers, bearing the title “False Alarm,” say the measure is unneeded and riddled with exemptions.

The proposal calls for a phase-out of the use of the so-called “deca” forms of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, also known as PBDEs, in mattresses and upholstered furniture starting next January. They would be banned in televisions, computers and other plastic-cased home electronics by Jan. 1, 2010.

A work session on the bill before the Committee on Natural Resources that was scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed to next Tuesday. But the debate continues in full-page ads purchased by the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum and in the State House hallways.

The sponsor, House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, calls her bill one of the most important this session addressing chemical pollutants in the environment.

The North Haven Democrat said there’s “significant” scientific evidence that the absorption of PBDE “is a very real threat to women and children, because these chemicals are passed to infants through breast milk and to children through contact with household dust.”

Pingree’s legislation builds on legislation she sponsored in 2004 and was enacted. That phased out two forms of PBDEs known as penta and octa, and set a goal of phasing out the most widely used PBDE, deca, by 2008.

Firefighters in Maine say the chemical becomes more dangerous after it burns because it turns into a noxious gas that can be breathed in or absorbed through the skin. They also say equally effective alternatives are available.

Supporters, who include the Professional Firefighters of Maine, Maine Fire Chiefs Association and Fire Marshal John Dean, say the opponents’ ads are misleading and leave an erroneous suggestion that the bill would outlaw all fire retardants.

Dean, also president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals, said he has followed the issue for years and is satisfied that safe alternatives to deca are available.

“Whatever we do, I don’t want people losing their lives and property,” Dean said.

Supporters of the Maine legislation note that the industry staged a similar ad blitz in Washington before Gov. Chris Gregoire made her state the nation’s first to enact a bill phasing out the fire retardant. They say PDBE bans have also been introduced in a half-dozen other states.

In Maine, several health and environmental groups have stepped forward in support of the Pingree’s bill.

The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, an industry association of manufacturers of bromines and other flame retardants, says on its Web site that Maine lawmakers “are playing with fire” in considering Pingree’s bill.

John Kyte, the group’s North American program director, agreed Wednesday that there are alternatives to deca. But he said the problem is that manufacturers can’t always substitute for it without having to change the design of their products or kinds of plastics they use.

Kyte said that by taking away from manufacturers the most cost-effective and efficient flame retardant, some may reconsider whether to use flame retardants in their products at all. He acknowledged that some manufacturers are dropping deca, but questioned whether they are simply bowing to pressure from environmentalists and avoiding bad publicity.

His group says that in three decades of use in thousands of industrial and household products, deca-BDE has never been shown to cause health problems or environmental harm.

It also said “loopholes” allowed in the bill raise question as to whether PDBEs really is a threat to the environment and public health.

AP-ES-04-18-07 1633EDT