Bill Hall

By Bill Hall, Venable LLP and Outside Counsel to the Resilient Floor Covering Institute
Sensational headlines often sell tabloids and reality TV shows, but can cast unfounded aspirations on the safety or effectiveness of commonly used products. The latter recently occurred when a Michigan-based activist group called the Ecology Center released test results allegedly showing that vinyl flooring and wall coverings are dangerous for children and consumers because some of these products may contain additives that are restricted in toys although not restricted in flooring or building materials (see healthystuff.org).

However, when you objectively analyze what these test results really show, or more importantly don’t show, vinyl flooring’s record of safe and beneficial use remains intact. As Detective Joe Friday on the memorable “Dragnet” TV show used to say: “Just the facts, ma’am.” Well, here are the facts.

Fact No. 1: Tested vinyl tile and sheet vinyl products have a long history of safe use; are very durable (often lasting 20–30 years); are easy to maintain; often use recycled materials, and are very affordable. They are preferred in sensitive building environments such as hospitals and schools because of their cleanliness, ease of maintenance, and resistance to bacterial and pathogen growth to which children and patients are particularly susceptible.

Today’s vinyl flooring products receiving Floor Score certifications meet stringent California Section 1350 low-VOC limits which protect indoor air quality. The new NSF – 332 sustainability standard for resilient flooring recognize products that achieve important sustainability metrics that reduce the environmental footprint of these products. Scrap materials and, in an increasing number of products, old resilient flooring materials are recycled into new vinyl flooring products to reduce landfill and incineration disposal. Nothing in the Ecology Center test results detract from these very beneficial attributes of vinyl flooring.

Fact No. 2: The Ecology Center conducted quick screening tests of about 1,000 flooring samples randomly available in Michigan stores (vinyl, wood, ceramic, bamboo, cork) to determine whether heavy metals (e.g., lead, cadmium) were present in the products and, if so, in what amount. Using an XRF gun to zap each sample for about 30 seconds, it took readings off the gun. In only four cases involving vinyl flooring did the Center conduct more expensive analytical tests to determine whether phthalate plasticizers were present.

Most importantly, although buried in the fine print, the Ecology Center acknowledges the test results “DO NOT” measure the health risk of the product or exposure to the tested chemical in the product. The testing only measured whether something was there and, if so, in what quantity.

As common sense and science dictate, the mere presence of a chemical in a product does not make the product a health risk. If it did, we would have no safe drinking water for consumption because even the most regulated public drinking water often contains trace amounts of lead and other naturally occurring heavy metals.

Rather, a health risk occurs only if there is exposure to a hazardous chemical at sufficient levels resulting from particular conditions of product design and usage. Risk = hazard + exposure, and without sufficient exposure to a hazardous chemical there is no risk. Thus, the Ecology Center acknowledges the test results do not measure product risk-only chemical presence which, standing alone, is meaningless in assessing actual risk.

Fact No. 3: The Ecology Center, however, indicates the use of phthalate plasticizers in vinyl flooring to provide its flexibility is dangerous because these phthalates are severely restricted in children’s toys. This logic is utterly flawed and wrongfully mixes apples and oranges. There is no scientific — or even logical — basis for comparing any phthalate exposure from vinyl flooring to exposure in children’s toys where it is assumed that toys are chewed and/or sucked for lengthy periods of time. Certainly this is not the case with kids and vinyl flooring. Even the most extreme assumptions about phthalate exposure from building materials predict levels that are substantially below those considered safe by regulatory authorities.

Fact No. 4: The Ecology Center particularly focuses on the screening results involving lead and cadmium. Significantly, of the 792 vinyl flooring products tested, 769 did not contain detectable levels of lead (97.1%). Of those samples that did, it does not appear any were manufactured in the United States. And the small number containing lead were often below the amounts that the U.S. Consumer Protection & Safety Commission currently allows in children’s toys (300 ppm). Likewise, the handful of detectable cadmium results in vinyl products were almost exclusively in non-U.S. produced vinyl flooring.

Upon a careful review of the test results and the science and attributes of vinyl flooring, the Ecology Center’s concerns about vinyl flooring’s safety are without scientific justification. Indeed, the overall facts fully support the many benefits of vinyl flooring, including its history of safe use. The vinyl flooring industry will continue to engage in creative and dynamic product development as it meets the needs of its customers for safe, durable and affordable products.

Bill Hall Recently Joined Venable LLP as a Partner in the Firm’s Environmental Department. Venable Employs Nearly 600 Lawyers with its Main Office in Washington, D.C., and Offices in Baltimore, New York City, Los Angeles, Rockville and Towson, MD., and Tysons Corners, VA.