| TILE MOSAICS STONE |
.
.
| t 321 242 5780 |
More Bad News for Wood & Laminate Floors
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
California has added wood dust to Proposition 65, forcing wood and laminate flooring
merchants in that state to provide warnings that their products can cause cancer. The law takes
effect Dec. 18.
“We’re already labeling all of our products,” said Don Finkell, CEO, Shaw Hardwood. “For
Anderson and Shaw, it doesn’t make sense to have separate inventory for California, so we
are going to label everything and comply.”
Ed Korczak, executive director and CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), said
that members are not only going to label products going to California — there will be some
type of standard label.
Formerly titled The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, Proposition 65
regulates substances listed by California that can cause cancer or birth defects. This summer,
the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in France, listed wood dust as
a carcinogen. Because the sawing and/or drilling of wood and laminate flooring can create
wood dust, suppliers must include warnings either on the packaging of these materials or on
placards at point of sale.
Mohawk senior vice president of marketing Roger Farabee, like many in the industry, is
concerned that the warnings could be misconstrued. “We want to comply, and we want to
conform but we don’t want to alarm,” he said.
Others said the regulation goes too far. “This is similar to a placard stating that sitting on a
beach could be dangerous because sand could cause cancer,” said Dennis Bradway, technical
committee chairman, North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA). The IARC
classifies sand as a Class 2A carcinogen.
David Sheehan, vice president of resilient and laminate business, Mannington, told FCW that
the new legislation will not impact sales and customers are already familiar with dangers
involved in breathing in foreign particles.
“We already have a warning that inhalation of wood dust particles is a carcinogen on our
installation instructions for installers,” Sheehan explained. “Getting them onto the carton is a
good idea. Most people are smart enough to know that they need to do the cutting outside.”
In related news, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to finalize a draft of
the Boiler MACT rule on Dec. 16, which, among other stringent limits on solid fuel-fired
industrial boilers, is expected to deem the burning of wood dust as hazardous waste. The EPA
proposed the new emission rule on April 29.
Wood and laminate flooring manufacturers recently began to promote their recycling of wood
waste back into production cycles as sustainable fuel.
“The EPA’s Boiler MACT is proposed; not like Prop 65 which is already enacted,” said Bradway.
“We as an industry can still influence this and have to. This ruling would force more than $21
billion in capital investments and other costs.”
Korczak noted that none of the boilers currently being used would meet the EPA’s standards
and that replacing them would be a large investment. “We are working with the EPA to create
some kind of step-wise approach where we are all going in the same direction,” he said.
merchants in that state to provide warnings that their products can cause cancer. The law takes
effect Dec. 18.
“We’re already labeling all of our products,” said Don Finkell, CEO, Shaw Hardwood. “For
Anderson and Shaw, it doesn’t make sense to have separate inventory for California, so we
are going to label everything and comply.”
Ed Korczak, executive director and CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), said
that members are not only going to label products going to California — there will be some
type of standard label.
Formerly titled The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, Proposition 65
regulates substances listed by California that can cause cancer or birth defects. This summer,
the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in France, listed wood dust as
a carcinogen. Because the sawing and/or drilling of wood and laminate flooring can create
wood dust, suppliers must include warnings either on the packaging of these materials or on
placards at point of sale.
Mohawk senior vice president of marketing Roger Farabee, like many in the industry, is
concerned that the warnings could be misconstrued. “We want to comply, and we want to
conform but we don’t want to alarm,” he said.
Others said the regulation goes too far. “This is similar to a placard stating that sitting on a
beach could be dangerous because sand could cause cancer,” said Dennis Bradway, technical
committee chairman, North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA). The IARC
classifies sand as a Class 2A carcinogen.
David Sheehan, vice president of resilient and laminate business, Mannington, told FCW that
the new legislation will not impact sales and customers are already familiar with dangers
involved in breathing in foreign particles.
“We already have a warning that inhalation of wood dust particles is a carcinogen on our
installation instructions for installers,” Sheehan explained. “Getting them onto the carton is a
good idea. Most people are smart enough to know that they need to do the cutting outside.”
In related news, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to finalize a draft of
the Boiler MACT rule on Dec. 16, which, among other stringent limits on solid fuel-fired
industrial boilers, is expected to deem the burning of wood dust as hazardous waste. The EPA
proposed the new emission rule on April 29.
Wood and laminate flooring manufacturers recently began to promote their recycling of wood
waste back into production cycles as sustainable fuel.
“The EPA’s Boiler MACT is proposed; not like Prop 65 which is already enacted,” said Bradway.
“We as an industry can still influence this and have to. This ruling would force more than $21
billion in capital investments and other costs.”
Korczak noted that none of the boilers currently being used would meet the EPA’s standards
and that replacing them would be a large investment. “We are working with the EPA to create
some kind of step-wise approach where we are all going in the same direction,” he said.
An article in the October 4 - 11, 2010 issue of Floor Covering Weekly (a journal produced
for the floor covering industry) announces that California has identified wood dust as a
carcinogen and will require packaging to state this warning. The law is effective
December 18, 2010. The article is reprinted here or see www.floorcoveringweekly.com
for the floor covering industry) announces that California has identified wood dust as a
carcinogen and will require packaging to state this warning. The law is effective
December 18, 2010. The article is reprinted here or see www.floorcoveringweekly.com
California Adds Wood Dust to List of Carcinogens
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Articles Tile and Flooring |