Is Vinyl Flooring Toxic

Some lvt manufacturers are committed to reducing the amount of pvc and phthalates but many companies have not eliminated them.

Is vinyl flooring toxic.

Vinyl flooring toxic fumes. 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 characteristic is achieved by the addition of phthalates to the material mix when the pvc is being manufactured. Some vinyl is hard but most flooring vinyl is relatively soft and yielding.

Toxic metals in vinyl flooring. Organotins a form of tin can be used in the top layer. Ehn found the heavy metal cadmium recently in vinyl floors probably recycled ones they say. But another concern phthalates in vinyl flooring has also garnered attention since both home depot and lowe s announced that flooring products they sell will be phthalate free by 2016.

What is the concern about phthalates. Why is vinyl flooring hazardous. Flooring samples sold by five major home improvement stores were tested and of the 65 vinyl flooring tiles tested 58 contained phthalates. I have seen various types including silver.

A recent study found that most vinyl flooring made from reprocessed plastic contained toxic phthalates lead cadmium brominated flame retardants and other toxic chemicals. These chemicals can contribute to indoor air pollution by drifting out of the. Vinyl flooring phthalates. The pvc will create a large number of toxic chemicals like dioxins and phthalates that are released into the air and can.

Greenbuildingsupply interestingly the material safety data sheets on all of the vinyl flooring i found say that it is either relatively non toxic except for in case of thermal. Linoleum flooring is a safer alternative to vinyl flooring and manufacturers have started offering phthalate free flooring that doesn t contain the potentially dangerous chemicals identified by. It s important to avoid recycled vinyl. These are toxic substances and they have been linked to reproductive and respiratory health problems in people who have prolonged exposure.

Vinyl flooring can last anywhere from 10 to 20 years. Vinyl chloride has been classified as a human carcinogen 14th report on carcinogens national toxicity program and is on the living building challenge red list of toxic chemicals to avoid.