APRIL 23, 2015
Mooresville-based Lowe’s Home Improvement is facing scrutiny
about selling flooring containing potentially dangerous chemicals after rival
Home Depot pledged to phase out the products by the end of the year.
The decision from Home Depot, the world’s largest
home-improvement chain, came Wednesday after the company said it worked with
consumer groups who warned about vinyl flooring that contains chemicals called
phthalates.
The retailer is urging other suppliers to phase out their
use of the chemicals, too, the New York Times reported.
A recent study from HealthyStuff.org, a research group
affiliated with the Ecology Center, found that the majority of vinyl flooring
tiles sold at major retailers, including Lowe’s, contain toxic phthalates,
which are commonly found in flooring at levels exceeding U.S. Consumer Products
Safety Commission children’s product standards.
Researchers said the chemicals have been linked to asthma,
birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive problems, liver toxicity and
cancer.
“We call on Lowe’s and other major home improvement
retailers to join Home Depot in phasing out phthalates in flooring,” Andy
Igrejas, director of advocacy group Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, said in
a statement.
Lowe’s, the second biggest home improvement retailer, said
it’s continually assessing its inventory to make sure it offers the best
possible products.
“We are reviewing the latest research regarding phthalates
and are working with our suppliers to consider alternative materials,” Steve
Salazar, corporate communications manager at Lowe’s, wrote in an email to the
Observer.
Following pressure from environmental groups, Lowe’s also
said recently that it plans to phase out products that contain certain
chemicals that are shown to be harmful to bees. Over the past year, retailers
including Home Depot and Whole Foods have taken similar steps.
Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/