California AG Sues Crib Makers Over Formaldehyde

September 24, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Bedroom on September 2008 California Attorney General Jerry Brown Wednesday sued five baby furniture manufacturers for failing to warn consumers about what he calls dangerous levels of formaldehyde gas emitted by their products, including cribs and changing tables.

“We’re suing these companies because parents deserve to know if there’s a dangerous chemical in products for children,” Brown said, according to a press release. “Over the past two years, we’ve brought other actions to ensure the safety of children’s products, such as lead in toys and (toxins) in baby bibs. Increasingly, the wood and other materials in consumer products are produced globally, and the lack of tough safeguards and strict enforcement can lead to dangerous levels of exposure.”

The state’s lawsuit alleges that Child Craft, Delta Enterprise Corp., Stork Craft, South Shore Industries and Jardine Enterprises manufactured baby furniture, such as cribs and changing tables, that emit formaldehyde—a chemical known to cause cancer—and failed to provide any warning about this risk, according to Brown’s statement. In addition to being a carcinogen, formaldehyde has been shown to contribute to respiratory problems like asthma.

The Environmental California Research and Policy Center, an organization that evaluates products for carcinogens, tested the companies’ baby furniture. Based on that testing and on his own test results, Brown’s office calculated that the furniture exposes children to formaldehyde gas at levels well above the Proposition 65 limit of 40 micrograms per day.
A press release by Brown’s office said the lawsuit seeks to remedy past violations and to prompt manufacturers and retailers to prevent baby furniture containing formaldehyde from being sold without warning consumers about the risks of exposure.