Furniture a chemical hazard, Greenpeace warns
Greenpeace urges manufacturers to come clean on compounds after samples of household dust show traces of dangerous toxins
A green group is calling on manufacturers to fully disclose the chemicals they use in making furniture after dust samples from households had traces of harmful chemicals.
Greenpeace sent surveys to the branches of furniture manufacturers in Hong Kong from June to August. Only five of the 70 polled replied, and only one of those - a Danish maker of children's furniture - had a comprehensive policy and limits on chemicals used in its product.
"Furniture at home is one of the things we have close contact with every day," Greenpeace campaigner Ada Kong Cheuk-san said. "We hope manufacturers will disclose the list of toxic chemicals that they don't use to assure us."
The group took dust samples from three homes in July and sent them to an independent laboratory in the Netherlands for analysis. The lab found that all contained toxic chemicals - plasticisers, PFCs and toxic flame retardants. The amounts were similar to the average detected in samples from five mainland cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Plasticisers are used in artificial leather, while PFCs can be found in water-, oil- and dirt-proof surfaces and non-stick coatings for pans. Flame retardants are common in electronic appliances and in the stuffing for sofas and cushions.
Kong said the dust tests did not directly prove the source of the toxins. But the public could avoid them by carefully choosing products.