Dangerous Vinyl Flooring

Researchers say vinyl flooring and sofas with flame retardants can present a health risk to children.

Dangerous vinyl flooring.

It is a non renewable material made from petroleum based chemicals. Flooring samples sold by five major home improvement stores were tested and of the 65 vinyl flooring tiles tested 58 contained phthalates. The argument goes that since most vinyl floors will end up in a landfill and there are over 8 000 fires per year in us landfills vinyl contributes to overall dioxin levels. Most vinyl flooring contains chemicals called phthalates many of which have been banned from children s products over concerns of negative health effects.

If a fire breaks out and the vinyl in your floor catches flame it will begin to emit noxious fumes which will fill the air with harmful toxins including dioxins. In april 2015 a study was released about vinyl flooring and toxic phthalates. What is the concern about phthalates. Dehp can be found inside homes.

With vinyl it has the potential to be released during the manufacturing process and then again if the flooring product is incinerated in a particular temperature range. A recent study found that most vinyl flooring made from reprocessed plastic contained toxic phthalates lead cadmium brominated flame retardants and other toxic chemicals. Experts say linoleum is a safer alternative than vinyl flooring. But they re believed to be toxic and have been linked to a laundry list of ailments.

These chemicals can contribute to indoor air pollution by drifting out of the flooring and into the air and dust inside homes. 100 of vinyl flooring sold by lumber liquidators contained these dangerous chemicals although other flooring retailers were also selling vinyl flooring with high levels of phthalates. This is true whether a large scale fire breaks out or just a small portion of the floor is burnt by accidentally dropping something.