Date Published: 11/28/2020 [Source]
Q. We're trying to do a bigger kitchen and make an office, since I'm now probably working only from home. To save on cabinets, we're looking at several options, including cheaper, imported ones. I did some research, and I'm concerned about whether the Chinese-made cabinets we might get are safe to use. I assume that they don't give off harmful fumes like a friend told me about. Is this true and what can you tell me?
A. By "cheaper," I'm hoping you mean less costly, not less value for your money. As you spend more time at home, this could be a real problem, but it isn't what you've been led to believe. Your concern about Chinese-made cabinets is based on rumor and underlying hysteria more than on fact.
The concern is based on a few past dilemmas, such as when our domestic construction industry became so busy that there was a gypsum wallboard shortage, and China sent under-regulated boards into our market that contained cancer-causing radon. The fact is that the whole cabinet-producing industry had to make a change when it was discovered that the most common glues used to manufacture medium-density fiberboard, or MDF, and plywood have formaldehyde as a primary component. Although sealants are used to prevent or limit off-gassing of formaldehyde, California, America's main receiver of imported cabinets from China through its ports, developed laws and standards to control and eliminate volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
In case you thought China was the only concern, cabinets made all over the Western Hemisphere, from North, Central and South America, also used to have high levels of toxic formaldehyde in the adhesives. What you might want to consider is that California really stepped up in the interest of public safety, developing guidelines under their Carb 2 compliance standards. Sadly, the most recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement attempted to set standards, but Chinese companies have found that they can skirt the standards — not regarding toxicity, but tariffs — just by the way woods are purchased and handled.