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Formaldehyde issues in wood composites and children's furniture

In choosing children's furniture, you should look for a water-based furniture finish that has no long-standing chemical off-gassing. Urea formaldehyde or phenol formaldehyde are the primary binders used in wood particleboard, and as such, are sometimes used in the finishing of some children's furniture. The formaldehyde concerns have been suppressed by the wood products' industry. The following excerpts are from the EPA's US Consumer Products Safety Commission in this regard:

"Formaldehyde is an industrial chemical used to make other chemicals, building materials, and household products. It is one of the largest families of chemical compounds called volatile organic compounds or VOC's. The term means that the compound vaporizes, that is, becomes a gas, at normal room temperatures."

"Formaldehyde is a colorless, strong-smelling gas. When present in the air at levels above 0.1 ppm (parts per million of air) it can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes, nose and throat, nausea, coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, skin rashes, and allergic reactions."

"It has also been observed to cause cancer in scientific studies using laboratory animals and may cause cancer in humans."

Formaldehyde can affect people differently. Some people are very sensitive to it while others may not have any noticeable reactions to the same level of chemicals. Formaldehyde is trapped within furniture during the pressing process and may take many months for the chemical to be released into the air.

Vicki Stoecklin and Jolie Stoecklin visited the Community Playthings factory
in upstate New York where all furniture is finished with a water-based sealer
that contains no toxic chemicals.

Formaldehyde is listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a probable human carcinogen and is regulated by OSHA as a potential cancer agent. Ask your furniture maker to supply you with information as to how any furniture you buy for the classroom or office is finished and if they use toxic chemicals.

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