Chemicals in vinyl flooring and wallpaper raise worries

[JBeukema]

Some of the very chemicals that Congress banned from children’s toys and child care products in 2009 are found in flooring and wallpaper products sold across the U.S., a new report claims.
Researchers from a nonprofit environmental group called the Ecology Center tested more than 2,000 wallpapers and floor coverings for toxic substances. Along with low levels of some heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead, the researchers discovered significant levels of phthalates, a hormone-like chemical.

A small number of human studies and many animal tests have linked phthalates to asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive changes, liver toxicity and cancer, according to the report released today by the group in Ann Arbor, Mich.

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