Release: Avella Praises Stopping Sale of Lumber Liquidators Flooring

(QUEENS, NY) Today, State Senator Tony Avella, Vice Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, commended Lumber Liquidators’ decision to immediately halt the sale of certain Chinese-made laminate flooring that was recently found to contain dangerously high levels of formaldehyde.

The company announced Thursday that it was suspending the sale of the controversial flooring that caused them to come under fire after a “60 Minutes” report aired in March showed that the product contained extremely high levels of the chemical. Formaldehyde can pose serious health risks – including coughing, nausea and dizziness – and has been linked to certain types of cancer, if exposed for long periods of time.

Immediately following this report, Senator Avella sent a letter to the State Department of Environmental Conservation as well as Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, calling on both to immediately investigate the product as well as its sale at Lumber Liquidators stores across the country.

“When I first saw the report about this hazardous flooring, I was extremely concerned about Lumber Liquidators’ decision to sell this product without knowing or caring about the danger it could cause. The levels of formaldehyde discovered in this flooring are both shocking and disturbing and should be taken seriously. I commend Lumber Liquidators for its decision to stop selling this flooring and not risk putting anyone else in danger, but more must be done to fix this problem. I urge state and federal authorities to thoroughly investigate this situation and hold Lumber Liquidators fully accountable for their actions,” said Senator Avella.