U.S. vinyl flooring manufacturers are aware of the dangers and have taken steps to eliminate phthalates from their vinyl products. To be sure, there are questions you should ask.
Q: I have put my plans to put vinyl flooring in my kitchen and family room on hold because of news reports about phthalates in vinyl flooring. Why is this information just coming out now, and can you recommend an LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile) that does not contain these chemicals?
A: This is not new news. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. EPA have been looking at potential health concerns with phthalates for more than a decade. It began in the 1990s,
with studies, and then rules restricting phthalate use in children’s items, like rattles and teethers -- things that they would routinely put in their mouths. Flooring was not on the list.
More recently,
the U.S. EPA has issued an action plan for several phthalates, some of which have been used in vinyl flooring.
There’s a recommendation circulating the Internet to keep organic lemons in the freezer and grate them onto your foods.
This recipe follows an array of published claims that lemons are antiviral, antibacterial and an emerging anti-cancer weapon. Though some of the latest claims are not valid, an investigation by www.snopes.com has clarified that some preliminary studies do point to health benefits.
“Recent studies have further shown that limonoids inhibit the development of cancer in laboratory animals and in human breast cancer cells as well as reducing cholesterol," the investigation found.
