The Consumer Product Safety Commission formally announced on Wednesday that it was investigating whether Lumber Liquidators, one of the nation’s largest discount flooring retailers, sold products with dangerous levels of formaldehyde.þþElliot F. Kaye, the commission’s chairman, said in a call with reporters on Wednesday that the company had been cooperating with the agency’s inquiry.þþThe agency began looking into the matter sometime after the CBS News program “60 Minutes” broadcast a report that accused Lumber Liquidators of selling laminate flooring in California that violated the state’s regulations on safety levels for formaldehyde products. The company has repeatedly insisted that its products are safe and has disputed the news program’s testing methods.þþThere are no national standards on formaldehyde emissions. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules to limit them, but the regulations have not been put into effect.þþThe safety commission will conduct its own testing and evaluate the scientific research on the risks of formaldehyde, a process Mr. Kaye predicted could take months.þþFormaldehyde, a common preservative that is a known carcinogen, is used in everything from clothing to furniture. It is an ingredient in the glues for laminate flooring, a cheaper alternative to hardwood and other higher-end wood products. Laminate flooring is manufactured by gluing together various materials, and then adhering a thin layer of wood or synthetic material on top.þþTo measure compliance with state safety standards, California shaves off the top layer of a board and tests the core of a product.þþLumber Liquidators disputes the state’s testing procedures, arguing that the company’s flooring should be tested with the top layer on, the way the products are used in the home.þþ“It is our firm belief that finished product testing, rather than deconstruction, is the best approach to determine consumer safety,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.þþThe safety commission appears to agree. Mr. Kaye said that the commission would test products as they are used indoors, and would not rely on California’s method of deconstructive testing.þþ“Our obligation is to assess how much exposure a consumer has to formaldehyde from the product,” Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email after the call.þþThe agency can force Lumber Liquidators to issue a recall only if it determines that the laminate flooring adversely affects human health. Mr. Kaye noted that the long-term effects of formaldehyde exposure were less understood than short-term symptoms, like burning of the eyes and throat.þþ“Our work will take some time and often the science does not provide the clarity we all wish it would,” Mr. Kaye said. “The science is well developed, but not fully developed on the risks associated with formaldehyde exposure, especially long term.”þþWorried homeowners can buy indoor air testing kits, but those tests do not pinpoint the sources of formaldehyde. Sending a specific product to a lab for testing can cause thousands of dollars.þþLumber Liquidators previously announced that it would offer consumers free indoor air testing, and the company has continued running television commercials advertising its flooring.þ
Source: NY Times
