US NGO finds hazardous substances in flooring and wallpaper
US NGO the Ecology Center says tests it conducted on over 1,000 flooring samples and nearly 2,300 types of wallpaper found hazardous substances including lead, brominated flame retardants, cadmium, arsenic, organotins, pththalates and mercury.
The results have been loaded into its HealthyStuff database, which includes similar data for accessories and apparel, children's products and pet products.
The group said 29 of 39 PVC floor tiles sampled contained detectable lead, with levels as high as 1,900 ppm. Two thirds of the 61 PVC tiles contained organotin stabilizers. Flooring samples contained phthalates, at up to 12.9% by weight. Almost all the types of wallpaper that were tested contained PVC coatings. Just over half of PVC wallpaper samples contained "one or more hazardous chemicals of concern" at > 40ppm levels, including lead, cadmium, chromium, tin and antimony.
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