After the discovery of an error in the report released earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators likely has three times the cancer risk previously reported.
After the discovery of an error in the report released earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators likely has three times the cancer risk previously reported.
The CDC said the indoor air model used for the report released Feb. 10 had an incorrect value for ceiling height and therefore the airborne formaldehyde concentration estimates were about three times lower than they should have been.
Final revised results are not available, but the CDC estimates with the corrected model the risk of cancer is from six to 30 cases per 100,000 people; previously the CDC estimated the risk to be two to nine cases per 100,000 people. The CDC said that because of the “very conservative (health protective) nature of the models used in this analysis, the calculated risk is likely lower than our modeled estimate.”
In the Feb. 10 report, the CDC said “exposure to the higher-end levels could result in eye, nose, and throat irritation for anyone,” but that has been revised to “exposure to the lowest modeled levels of formaldehyde could result in eye, nose, and throat irritation for anyone.”
Currently, CDC/ATSDR is conducting a quality review of the indoor air model and the revised results. It does not have a date when the final corrected report will be available.
Formaldehyde emissions from Lumber Liquidators laminate have been under the spotlight ever since the company was the subject of a “60 Minutes” investigation alleging the products were made with non-CARB-compliant cores and had unhealthy levels of formaldehyde.
Lumber Liquidators stock was at $14.21 at the close of trading Friday but opened today at $11.70 and had dipped below $11.00—its lowest level since the “60 Minutes” report was announced in late February 2015, when the stock was trading at $65.01.
