Customers claim Lumber Liquidators slow to replace unsafe floors

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Lumber Liquidators customers worried their wood floors are making them sick say the company is making it hard to get them replaced.

More than 10,000 customers have asked for a free home air-testing kit after a “60 Minutes” report last month raised concerns that some of the company’s Chinese-made flooring contains unsafe levels of formaldehyde.

“Several weeks have passed and [people] have not yet received the results,” said Jeff Friedman, an attorney with Hagens Berman, which has filed several lawsuits against the company.

Nor will the company say how many tests have come back with excessive levels of the chemical, a carcinogen.

Ryan and Kristin Brandt hired their own technician, who found emissions of 1.63 parts per million — almost 16 times California’s limit, which is a “high risk for irreversible health issues,” their suit alleges.

The Brandts allege that Lumber Liquidators claimed the tests were inaccurate and sent them the home testing kit, which they performed and returned. They are still waiting to hear back.

The home of one person who has received her Lumber Liquidator test results has tested above several US standards. But Lumber Liquidators told her it was not bad enough to warrant further review.

Patricia Cottington of North Fork, Calif., requested two home test kits around March 12, according to her suit. On April 10 she received a report from the lab hired by Lumber Liquidators saying her test came back with a formaldehyde exposure of 0.038 ppm.

The lab added that “any results which exceed 0.81 ppm warrant a re-test or further evaluation,” referencing a World Health Organization guideline of .81 ppm.

Lumber Liquidators said it went with the WHO standard because it is an “international consensus standard.”

“The World Health Organization determined that the .81 ppm level protects against health effects from both short-term and long-term exposure,” the company said.

California and two US agencies, however, set a lower limit on formaldehyde, especially in the home, where exposures can be 24 hours a day for small children.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has recommended that formaldehyde levels not exceed 0.002 for chronic exposure, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has a minimum risk level for chronic exposure at 0.008 ppm.

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