Lumber Liquidators Tumbles As CDC Revises Flooring’s Cancer Risk

In the latest development the CDC has taken back its decision, and now says there is three times as much risk of getting cancer by using the company’s products.

As well as with cancer, people can become susceptible to higher risks of respiratory issues like nose, throat and eye irritation and asthma.

In a statement, the company said: “Since March of 2015, Lumber Liquidators has offered customers free independent air quality tests”.

In the initial report, the CDC said risks of cancer were as many as nine cases in 100,000 people. “Lumber Liquidators has significantly strengthened our quality assurance procedures, from enhanced compliance protocols to product sample testing”, the company wrote in emailed comments.

The floorboards in question contain high levels of the carcinogen formaldehyde.

The CDC attributes the error to an incorrect value for ceiling height, which made calculations for health risks three times lower than they actually are.

The stock of Lumber Liquidators had climbed 17 percent since that earlier CDC estimate, which was seen as favorable to the company. It showed Chinese suppliers saying that flooring made for Lumber Liquidators wasn’t compliant with California regulations even though it was labeled as such.

President Enrique Peña Nieto said Monday during a visit to Texas that businesses will be able to begin importing gasoline and diesel as of April 1, rather than 2017 as previously planned. The company’s stock had risen in the days following that initial report.

Lumber Liquidators said it supports the CDC’s recommendations and that it is “encouraged” that the agency is reviewing its conclusions.

In its original report, the CDC suggested consumers could reduce exposure to formaldehyde by opening windows for a few minutes each day to bring in fresh air.

The revised results are preliminary, the CDC added, noting that “We strongly stress taking steps to reduce exposures, which should alleviate respiratory and eye, nose and throat irritation”.

In October, the company was fined millions for environmental crimes.

Lumber Liquidators didn’t immediately return a phone message or e-mail left outside regular business hours. But the new report triggered press reports over the weekend that tied the increased cancer risk to Lumber Liquidators’ products.