Is your desk table top safe?
With the recent investigation of Lumber Liquidators and the resultant pull out of some of their Chinese made products, customers have been asking us about the safety of our wooden desk table tops.
We're happy to say that our locally sourced desktops are much safer and better for you than many of the other desk table tops you find with adjustable height standing desks. Our tops are formaldehyde free and made right here in Toronto, Canada.
What about other desk table tops? And what happened to Lumber Liquidators? Well, a couple of months ago, a "60 Minutes" episode aired and exposed the use of formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) in much of their wooden inventory from China, at very high levels.
And unfortunately, formaldehyde is commonly used in the glue of veneer plywood desks, particle board, and pretty much any composite wood. How can you tell who uses it? Well, if they don't tell you, they are probably using it.
How bad is formaldehyde?
It's bad. In the short term, even at small levels, some people can experience reactions such as watery eyes and burning sensations in the nose and throat. Skin irritation, coughing, wheezing, and nausea also. It's no surprise that lab tests show long-term increases in cancer rates (current studies show evidence with lab animals).
The National Cancer Institute has looked at the data and concluded that exposure to formaldehyde may cause leukemia. As if the direct effects weren't bad enough, there are indirect effects also. The CDC said that formaldehyde a “potent sensitizer". This means that if you are exposed to formaldehyde, it can actually cause you to then become allergic to other chemicals you weren't initially allergic to.
So this begs the question if it has so many links to cancer, why is it used? I think you can guess the answer to this question. Like so many scandals out there, the root driver is money. Formaldehyde is just cheaper. And the unfortunate fact is that it is readily available, and easily used in the Chinese factories.
The laws and regulations are much more stringent in Canada and the United states, which makes the use of formaldehyde less likely, and when it is used, it is typically at lower levels. Personally, though, I wouldn't want it at any level. When I made the choice to use a standing desk, a large reason was to improve health.
Why would I jeopardize my health with something that can cause cancer? Especially when one of the reasons I use a standing desk is to lower the chance of cancer? For a few bucks, your health is not worth it.
What to do?
You want to be healthy, you want a new standing desk, but you don't want to stop breathing and wear a hazmat suit.
So what to do?
Check out a height adjustable standing desk with a formaldehyde free desk table top made in Canada here.
You deserve it.
