It’s been a little more than three months since “60 Minutes” ran its story about certain laminate products at Lumber Liquidators having levels of formaldehyde that exceeded limits set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Limits that are expected to become national by the end of the year as the Environmental Protection Agency is developing a final rule under the revised Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act that was enacted in 2010 as title VI of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), with a projected November release. Based on all reports, the federal standard will virtually mirror what is known as CARB 2, which was the second phase of the California rollout to eliminate this toxic substance.
And, two months after the CBS story aired, Lowe’s announced it was pulling certain Chinese-made laminate from its shelves out of “caution.”