New carpet is toxic

Remember concerns raised, some time ago, about how toxic a carpet can be? What has happened since? The Townsend Letter reported in 2001:

Recent conversations with EPA officials and the Anderson Lab confirm that no followup studies have been done since the early 1990's. Another example of how the political/scientific partnership carefully avoids studying problems which might yield results unfriendly to industry.

The article provides a good synopsis of some issues concerning the safety of carpeting.

Some recommendations for safer carpet handling include:

• air the carpet before you install it
• avoid exposure to a newly installed carpet
• use felt padding
• tack or staple the carpet rather than glue it
• consider a HEPA air purifier