by Rebecca Walker — October 20, 2010—Flooring products and wallpaper made with PVC are more likely than non-PVC products to contain lead, phthalates and other hazardous chemicals, according to tests by the Ecology Center.
For five years, the Michigan-based nonprofit has tested toys, cars, pet products and other items for the presence of lead, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chlorine (PVC), cadmium, arsenic, tin, phthalates and mercury, and posted its findings to HealthyStuff.org. All of the chemicals can pose health hazards, particularly to children, and in many cases none of the chemicals are regulated in the products the Ecology Center tests.
For its latest project, the Ecology Center tested about 1,000 flooring products and 2,300 types of wallpaper from 11 brands and manufacturers. There are no U.S. standards for chemical use in home improvement products like floors and wallpaper. However, the Ecology Center points out, products like these can pose dangers to children and pets since they are most likely to come into the most contact with them, in turn being possibly exposed to chemicals in them.
Overall, products containing PVC, which is an indicator of the use of phthalates, were seven times more likely to contain hazardous chemicals, according to the study. About 45 percent of products with PVC contained at least one chemical being looked for, while six percent of non-PVC materials had chemicals of concern.
More than half of PVC wallpaper samples and 15 percent of vinyl flooring contained chemicals, and limited tests of four vinyl flooring products for phthalates found that each sample contained at least one type of phthalate that have been banned in children’s products by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.
While only five percent of all flooring contained lead, the highest levels were found in vinyl products. Flooring made from linoleum, cork, bamboo or hardwood, on the other hand, did not contain any hazardous metals.
The Center’s Web site provides results from the tests. Products can be searched by brand, type and level of chemicals detected.
