HOUSTON – Popular flooring found in homes all over the country could make you sick.
The discovery made national headlines last year and since then, federal investigators have confirmed it. But more than a year later, some homeowners are still worried and confused about their family's health and safety.
Consumer expert Amy Davis helped one family with their hunt for answers.
Three-year-old Cooper and his little brother, Harrison, have lived on the Chinese-made Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring in their family's Kingwood home most of their lives.
"It's scary," their mother, Christina Young, told Davis.
She and her husband, Andrew Young, had the laminate installed in 2013. But just last year, "60 Minutes" reported that the floors had a big problem -- they were manufactured with unsafe levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde.
"Just the thought that it could be dangerous is not a good feeling," Christina Young said.
Lumber Liquidators pulled the product from every one of its 350-something stores, but when it came time to fix the Youngs' potentially dangerous flooring, they got this response:
"It's safe. We're not doing it," recounted Andrew Young.
The company did offer the Youngs an air-quality test to measure formaldehyde emissions in their home. But Lumber Liquidators told them by email, "Your results show that formaldehyde levels in your home fall within the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines for acceptable indoor air formaldehyde concentrations."
Vincent Daliessio with EMSL Analytical, Inc. noted that "It's very difficult to come up with a mandate that you can enforce legally."
That's because in the United States, there are still no standards for acceptable residential indoor formaldehyde levels in air. With that, the Youngs are not only stuck, but unnerved about every problem that pops up with the kids.
"Constant coughing, ear infections," said Christina Young of the respiratory issues that have plagued her sons in the last couple of years.
"You'd like to trust companies," Andrew Young told Davis. "But there's nothing to say that those results aren't being skewed."
KPRC 2 took a sample of their flooring and sent it to an independent lab. EMSL Analytical tested the amount of formaldehyde gas that the product emitted in their controlled lab.
Just as mom and dad feared, their tests of the Young's laminate flooring showed they emit more than double the amount of formaldehyde allowed by California law. The EMSL test is not certified by the California Air Resource Board. EMSL provides its emission numbers for comparison only.
California is the only state that regulates formaldehyde levels in flooring, which means the Youngs, who live in Texas, appear to be out of luck.
"I don't understand that," Andrew Young said. "I think it should be a nationwide standard."
Lumber Liquidators sent the following statement:
"Customer safety is Lumber Liquidators' No. 1 priority. That is why, more than a year ago, we voluntarily created a free home air quality testing program - administered by an accredited third-party laboratory - for our customers who purchased certain laminate flooring sourced from China. Mr. Young’s test came back 35 percent below the 0.08 ppm World Health Organization standard for formaldehyde, which is found in many common household items. We stand by those results and regret Mr. Young doesn’t accept them. The CDC recently completed a highly conservative examination of the laminate in question and recommended affected people, instead of removing their flooring, take common sense steps such as occasionally opening their windows. Lumber Liquidators supports those findings."
When KPRC 2 asked the company why it removed all of the Chinese-made laminate flooring from its stores if it believes they are safe, it sent this statement:
"Like the testing program, this was a voluntary measure taken out of an abundance of caution for customer safety. It also protected the Lumber Liquidators brand from having a small amount of total inventory distract our customers and employees."
Lumber Liquidators disapproves of any method of testing that takes its flooring apart. They say the seal on their finished product keeps formaldehyde emissions down and reduces the risk to homeowners.
Specifically, a company spokesperson wrote, "The test conducted by EMSL cut the flooring into small pieces, which is not a real-world representation of the product and includes far more exposed wood than in a home installation. EMSL refers to numerous values for comparison on its test results but it did not conduct any of the tests that are associated with them. Unless the proper method is used, the testing can’t be compared to any of the listed standards."
But the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) said the health threat is real and in some cases, the flooring does increase the risk of cancer for people exposed to it.
"Would you put this in your house? Would you let your baby crawl on it?" asked Christina Young.
The CDC also said formaldehyde levels decrease over time, but if anyone thinks they have higher than normal levels in their home, it recommends opening windows and making sure the living area is well ventilated, keeping the air circulating. In the meantime, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release U.S. standards for formaldehyde emissions later this year.