Chemicals in Synthetic Carpeting

If you needed any other reason to chose wool carpeting compared to synthetics, here are quite a few.

Most of the following information is provided by investigative reporting done by Cindy Duehring for Informed Consent. She is since deceased *(sufferer from MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivities).

 "The carpet industry has mounted a massively deceptive merchandising campaign the intentionally mislead the public by implying that all carpets with the green tag have met safety standards," says New York Attorney General Robert Abrams. "First of all, there are no such recognized standards of safety. The Carpet and Rug Institute its own arbitrary standards. Secondly, CRI's testing program is completely inadequate because it measures only a small percentage of the chemicals emited from carpets. 

Finally, a manufacturer can get a green tag for an entire product line simply by having one small piece of carpet tested once a year."  One of the carpets to pass the green tag testing is associated with disabling the members of the Charles Fitzgerald family of West Friendship, Maryland,who were exposed to it in their lighting store in 1992.  When tested by Anderson Labs, the Fitgeralds' carpet caused gross nervous system abnormalities in mice." The Consumer Product Safety Commision receives hundreds of compaints and inquiries each year about the adverse health effects associated with the materials used to make carpet,"said Abrahms. 

Yet the government has chosen to sweep this problem under the rug by ignoring the public's health concerns as well as my request to disseminate meaningful information about potential carpet hazards." 

The left column is chemicals found in carpets; the right side shows symptoms of those chemicals identified by industrial hygienists.

ethylbenzene	eye irritation
formaldehyde	contact lens affected
methacrylate acid	blurred vision
methyl methacrylate	eyes sensitive to light
acrylic oligomers	throat irritation
tetrachloroethylene	loss of voice
toluene	cough
xylenes	dry or thirsty mouth
4-phenylcyclohexene	lips burning
acetonitrile	tongue burning
azulene	headaches
benzene	dizziness, disorientation
biphenyl	vomiting
2-butyloctanol-1	nausea
cyclopentadiene-ethenyl-2-ethylene	chest pains
1,3,5-cycloheptatriene	shortness of breath
1-chloronaphthalene	irregular heart beat
diphenyl ether	high blood pressure
dodecane	drowsiness
1,4-dihydroxyacenophthene	unusual fatigue
ethylxylene	chemical sensitivity
1-ethyl-3-methylbenzene	nose burning or bleeding
hexadecanol	loss or increase of smell
hexamethylene triamine	moodiness
1-h-indene	rash or itching
1-methylnaphthalene	hair loss
2-methylnaphthalene	weight loss or gain
1-methyl-3 propylbenzene	flu-like symptoms
2-methyl-4-tridecene	aggravated asthma
5-methyltridecane	aggravated allergies
octadecenyl amine (oleylamine)	joint pain
oxarium	muscular aches
polyacrylates	abdominal pain
1-phenylcyclopentanol	memory loss
2-propylheptanol	poor concentration
phthalic esters	nervous system disorders
styrene	unusual depression
1,2,3,-trimethylbenzene	irritability
1,2,4,-trimethylbenzene	jerking in sleep
tetradecene	respiratory tract irritation
2,3,7-trimethyldecane	menstrual irregularities
undecane,2,6-dimethyl	sexual dysfunction

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