NICNAS published a report on formaldehyde in 2006, which concluded that occupational exposures to the chemical from high formaldehyde-emitting pressed wood products can cause health concerns.This information sheet is applicable to workers who use pressed wood products occupationally.Formaldehyde is a colourless gas with a pungent, irritating odour.It is used in the production of resins that act as glues for wood products, pulp, paper, glasswool and rockwool.Pressed wood products are sheet materials in which wood is largely in the form of strips, veneers, chips, strands or fibres. The wood particles are bound together by glue which is commonly a formaldehyde based resin.Pressed wood products are used in the construction of furniture, kitchens and flooring and are commonly used in caravans, mobile homes and demountable buildings.Pressed wood products can also be used in on site construction applications including structural ramps, overhead protection barriers and runways etc.Outdoor applications of pressed wood products occur under conditions of good ventilation, and are not likely to give rise to health effects.

Australian standards limit the amount of formaldehyde that can be released from reconstituted wood based panels and flooring (see For more information below). Wood products supplied according to these Australian Standards will have the classification of maximum formaldehyde emitted indicated on the label over four ranges of formaldehyde emission (E0 to E3).Use of wood products labelled in this way will ensure wood products of low formaldehyde release are only used in the workplace. See For more information for details on Australian Standards, labelling and certification.Formaldehyde has been shown to cause nasal cancers in animals. Limited monitoring data available from Australian wood industry workplaces indicates that formaldehyde levels at the majority of workplaces are less than 0.2 parts per million (ppm), and the nasal cancer risk is very low at these levels. Some human studies have indicated possible association or links between other cancers and formaldehyde exposure.The primary control measure for occupational exposure is elimination of the source of exposure.

Only low formaldehyde-emitting pressed wood products should be used, such as those that meet the Australian Standards for formaldehyde emission limits (E0 and E1). A (Material) Safety Data Sheet ((M)SDS) should be requested prior to purchasing any pressed wood products.For wood surfaces that are to be coated or laminated with vinyl or water resistant coating, the coating or laminate should be applied as soon as practicable, to reduce formaldehyde emissions.Occupational risks to formaldehyde exposures can be managed by ensuring effective ventilation when these products are used in indoor environments. Handling and storage of pressed wood products should only be undertaken in well ventilated areas.A key control measure for reducing exposure to formaldehyde when machining pressed wood products, is effective ventilation, preferably by 'on tool' local exhaust ventilation which extracts dusts and vapours at their source.Some situations involving tool usage require suitable respiratory protective equipment in addition to well-designed extraction equipment.

In these situations, the use of respiratory protection, complying with Australian Standard 1716, should be considered.If symptoms of burning, stinging or itching of the eyes and/or nose, sore throat, watery eyes, blocked sinuses, runny nose or sneezing occur workers should cease the activity and move to an area with fresh air.Bath Faucet Shower ConverterThe current national occupational exposure standard for formaldehyde is 1 ppm 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) and 2 ppm short-term exposure limit (STEL).Mahogany CurtainsThe NICNAS report recommends that the occupational exposure standard be lowered to 0.3 ppm TWA and 0.6 STEL based on irritation of the eyes and nose.Used Laptop For Sale At BangaloreThis level provides adequate protection against discomfort of irritation, but also provides a high level of protection against cancer.

Safe Work Australia, the agency responsible for setting national occupational exposure standards, is considering the recommended standard.Workplace health and safety regulations exist in each state and territory for hazardous substances. These regulations place duties on people including employers, suppliers and manufacturers in relation to hazardous substances used in the workplace.You should refer to the occupational health and safety authority in your particular state or territory to find out what the specific requirements are (see listing of all state and territory authorities below).NICNAS Priority Existing Chemical Assessment Report No. 28 – Formaldehyde.Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand documents:Australian Standards, labelling and product certification available at Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia.1Note: standards and labelling codes have been updated since the NICNAS PEC report on formaldehyde was completed.Your life is lived on our floors. And we take that to heart.

For more than two decades, we have been committed to providing millions of customers with quality flooring that is sustainable, affordable, and beautiful. That’s why we’ve become the market leader. We take pride in our products, we are proud to use them in our own homes, and we are proud to sell them to you. But here’s what else you need to know: We’re equally focused on meeting the highest standards of safety, like no other flooring company in this country. From hardwood to laminates, we’re investing more than ever to ensure we meet or exceed industry standards and set new benchmarks for product manufacturing, safety and quality assurance. We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen, by operating in a sustainable way, protecting the environment, and contributing to our communities. We work hard to make sure all of our products meet these high standards. As part of our efforts, we recognize the need to continuously raise the bar and improve our operations.

Working with third-party subject matter experts, as well as state and federal government agencies, we continue to enhance our internal processes to better reflect our values and the expectations of our stakeholders. As America’s long-trusted name in hardwood flooring we won’t rest until we’ve done everything possible to meet your highest expectations. You’ve trusted our value—and we value your trust. In 2015, Lumber Liquidators began to systematically enhance our compliance program and sustainability practices everywhere we do business. This started with the hiring of Jill Witter, a skilled and experienced senior executive, as our company’s Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). Jill reports directly to our CEO, John Presley, and has led a team of professionals through an intensive evaluation of our policies, our processes and our supply chain. This evaluation process included: Reorganizing our company to better align our processes with our commitment to quality and safety;

Installing a new risk assessment and evaluation process of every Lumber Liquidators supplier in every location from which we source; Terminating our relationship with suppliers who didn’t meet our standards; Adopting a detailed code of business conduct that, among many other requirements, mandates that each Lumber Liquidators employee be accountable for compliance in his or her area of responsibility. These initiatives provide the foundation for our rigorous and newly-redesigned compliance program. This program includes product testing, onsite supplier audits, and supplier risk assessments which help us to better identify suppliers who are aligned with our values and principles, even before we initiate business with them. Did the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announce a mandatory product recall of Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring?The CPSC did not announce a mandatory product recall. Lumber Liquidators and the CPSC agreed to a “recall to test”, which is the term the CPSC uses to describe a testing program.

In this case, Lumber Liquidators agreed to continue the in-home air quality testing program we began in May 2015 for consumers who purchased our Chinese-made laminate flooring between February 2012 and May 2015. Click here to view the CPSC’s Frequently Asked Questions about our agreement. Through our testing program, we have tested over 1,600 floor samples, without one testing above the CPSC’s remediation guidelines. If you have our Chinese-made laminate floors in your homes and would like to order your free test kit, you can do so here. I’m glad to hear that Lumber Liquidators’ “Recall to Test” program does not require anyone to remove or replace their laminate flooring. Still how do I know that your products are safe? First and foremost, we believe that every product Lumber Liquidators currently sells is safe and meets all safety and regulatory standards. In 2015, questions were raised about a small number of our products, specifically certain laminate flooring products sourced from China.

Since then, however, no government agency has declared that the flooring in question needs to be removed or returned. In fact, we have worked with over 32,000 consumers to test formaldehyde levels in their homes, and have tested over 1,600 planks of our customers’ flooring. None of those tests have found formaldehyde emission rates above the CPSC guideline. No government agency has raised questions about the safety of any of our other products, including bamboo, hardwood, tile, vinyl, engineered flooring, or laminates sourced from other countries. Are the products I read about in the news still in the marketplace?We voluntarily stopped selling Chinese-sourced laminate products in May 2015, and it has all been removed from our inventory. What should I do if I have Chinese-sourced laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators that I’d like to have tested? Lumber Liquidators has voluntarily implemented a customer in-home air testing program to ensure that customers who purchased laminate flooring prior to May 2015 are confident in the laminate flooring they purchased.

/ll/testkit to check if your laminate flooring qualifies for a free indoor air quality test kit. Have any government agencies ordered that Chinese-sourced laminate flooring be replaced? No, no government agency has recommended that consumers replace their Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring. The CDC, in particular, encouraged people who are concerned about their floors to take common sense steps such as opening windows in their home, recommendations that we support. If you’d like to learn more about the CDC’s recommendations, you can see their fact sheet here. Are there safety concerns about any of Lumber Liquidators’ other products? No government agency has raised questions about the safety of any of Lumber Liquidators’ other flooring products, including bamboo, hardwood, tile, vinyl, or engineered flooring. We have also ceased purchasing laminate products from China. We are confident that our products are safe and comply with all applicable quality and environmental standards.

What are you doing to ensure that going forward this won’t happen again? From hardwood to laminates, we’re investing more than ever to ensure the safety and quality of all of our products. As America’s long-trusted name in hardwood flooring we won’t rest until we’ve done everything possible to meet your highest expectations. Lumber Liquidators has implemented a robust compliance program to ensure that all its products meet or exceed relevant governmental standards. This compliance program includes: of every supplier and product purchased, including in-person audits at every supplier’s place of business conducted by a member of the Lumber Liquidators team or a third-party auditor with specialized industry expertise. to determine whether each vendor is capable of meeting Lumber Liquidator’s standards. These procedures include: a risk assessment as described above; a sample purchase order-level evaluation; an in-person audit by an employee, or third-party auditor with specialized industry experience.

to ensure that Lumber Liquidators can establish an unbroken and verified chain of custody from the company back to the product’s source at the forest level. A Purchase Order review catalogs all documentation showing the harvest location, harvest legality, and chain of custody for timber used to fulfill each purchase order. Among other requirements, the company reviews relative market and offer prices and determines whether the documentation has been previously used and is internally consistent. Where necessary, we insure that appropriate language skills are available to assess submitted documentation. Finally, the reviewer documents the decision whether, in consideration of above factors and risks, the product reasonably appears to be legally sourced and will include the basis for the decision. , using internal and/or third-party resources, includes field and desk audits to verify that company requirements are being met, identification of necessary corrective action, and on-site visits ensuring that ongoing monitoring is incorporated into the company’s activities.

In addition to strengthening our compliance policies, Lumber Liquidators is working to become more sustainable. We seek to minimize our impact on the environment and find new ways to leave a positive, lasting legacy on the communities in which we operate and on our customers. Our new company Code of Conduct focuses on the objects on the right. and protect the long-term health of forests, farms and plantations Commit to to ensure stable and long-term supply of our products for the well-being of our environment, communities and wildlife to positively influence our supply chain to prioritize compliance and sustainability At Lumber Liquidators, we are committed to making a lasting difference in the communities in which we operate. We call our community support program “Lay It Forward” and, since 2007, Lumber Liquidators has donated more than 300,000 square feet of flooring to nonprofit organizations, schools, arts facilities, community groups, and more.