"Heavy Metals Detected in 4 Commercial Wallpapers... Urgent Need for Safety Standards"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Among 30 wallpaper products sold on the market, heavy metals were detected in 4 products, but there are no specific safety standards, highlighting the urgent need for countermeasures.

On the 7th, according to the "Wallpaper Product Risk Assessment Report" received by Ku Ja-geun, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Technology and Standards, heavy metals were detected in 4 out of the top 30 wallpaper products with high sales volume based on Naver Shopping.

Specifically, lead was detected at a concentration of 266.0 mg/kg in paper flooring, and lead concentrations of 90 mg/kg or less were detected in 2 interior film products and 1 foam block product.

However, despite wallpaper and paper flooring being subject to safety standards for daily necessities, Ku pointed out that there are no heavy metal content standards for lead and cadmium.

In a separate evaluation of total volatile organic compounds conducted on 10 wallpaper products, formaldehyde, known as a carcinogen, was detected. The levels were 0.0023 mg/㎡·h for flame-retardant wallpaper (other wallpaper) and 0.0208 mg/㎡·h for paper flooring.

Formaldehyde also lacks established harmfulness standards. However, when applying the appropriate safety criteria suggested in the report, the levels were 12 times and 173 times higher, respectively.

Among the 10 products, toluene (0.0069?0.0522 mg/㎡·h), a reproductive toxic substance designated by the European Chemicals Agency, was detected in 5 products, and xylene (0.0071 mg/㎡·h) emissions were confirmed in 1 product.

Additionally, 3 products exceeded the Eco-friendly Building Material Mark (HB) certification standard (0.4 mg/㎡·h), and 5 products were found to exceed the national certified eco-label Environmental Mark certification standards.

Ku said, "Since wallpaper is closely related to our daily lives, it is urgent to establish risk standards for heavy metals and volatile organic compounds," and added, "A comprehensive safety investigation of wallpaper products distributed on the market is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.