You would never expect that your beautiful new wood flooring could potentially cause serious harm to you and your family. But, earlier this month, the Center for Disease Control released a report stating that certain laminate flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators contains excessive amounts of formaldehyde. Exposure to the flooring could cause cancer, complications with asthma or COPD, and irritation to a person’s eyes, nose, and throat. You can find the CDC report online at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/laminateflooring/default.html.
Formaldehyde is commonly used in the flooring industry as a binding agent, but there are strict limits on how much of the chemical can be used. The CDC report confirms a 60 Minutes investigation that found Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring exceeds these limits and that the Chinese factories supplying the flooring mislabeled the products as meeting stringent health standards.
Although the laminate top is meant to contain the formaldehyde typically used, the excessive amount found in the Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring escapes and puts people at risk. According to Denny Larson, the expert consulted in the 60 Minutes investigative report, the risk is made greater due to the fact that you are living with it on a daily basis. “You’re in a chamber so you’re living with it. You’re sleeping in there. And you’re constantly exposed. That’s the threat. The constant exposure to a potent carcinogen …”
The CDC “strongly stress[es] taking steps to reduce exposures, which should alleviate respiratory and eye, nose and throat irritation. These steps should also reduce the cancer risk.” The only way to reduce your exposure is to remove the risk.
If you purchased and installed Lumber Liquidators laminate wood flooring, you should contact us immediately. Together, we can determine your potential risk and we can help you recover your economic damages to rip out and replace the dangerous flooring.
