Kaiser Permanente, the largest US health care provider, has announced it will stop buying furniture treated with chemical flame retardants that have been linked to cancer and brain damage in children, among other ailments.

"Our mission is the health of our patients and of our communities, and that mission includes paying attention to pollutants that can cause illness," Kathy Gerwig, vice president at Kaiser Permanente, said in a statement.

The announcement follows petitions by families of several cancer survivors asking Congress to take action on the Chemicals in Commerce Act, which would amend the Toxic Substance Control Act, TSCA.

Under the current TSCA rules, a chemical is assumed to be safe until proven toxic. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only weak regulatory power. Of the 84,000 industrial chemicals used in household products, only 200 have been tested by the FDA and only five banned.

While industry and interest group agree that the law needs reforming, the Toxin Freedom Fighters, a group organized by the eco-friendly cleaning products company Seventh Generation, insist that changes proposed up to now would do little to protect consumers.

"The proposals before Congress to 'reform' our toxic chemical laws are more about protecting the chemical industry than they are about protecting public health," Toxin Freedom Fighters said in a petition it claims was signed by more than 120,000 Americans calling for meaningful toxic chemical reform.

Kaiser's announcement follows a new California law reversing the requirement that all upholstered furniture be treated with flame retardants amid growing evidence linking flame retardants to disease, and little evidence that flame retardants successfully delaying combustion. Kaiser, which is the primary health care provider in California, spends $30 million a year on furniture.

Patrick Allard, a professor of public health at UCLA whose lab research specializes in chemical toxins, told US media that he is encouraged by the healthcare company's move. "To me if there is one compound or family that we should ban, it would be flame retardants," Allard said.