A new California law already effective Jan 1, 2005, and the new federal flammability standards require mattresses to withstand a 12 inch wide open flame on the side for 50 seconds, and a simultaneous 10 inch wide open flame on the top for 70 seconds, and then not ignite for thirty minutes, even though a 1973 law already requires mattresses not ignite from a cigarette burning all the way down. To meet this new standard, new mattresses use a barrier system just under the ticking that is filled with known toxic flame retardant chemicals.