The cost of clean air

Just three weeks before Christmas, Dave Maurer had a looming disaster on his hands.

That’s when the owner of Sounds By Dave audio and video store realized a new law would soon ban the sale of approximately 100 products in his small store beginning on New Year’s Day. Many of his speaker boxes, P.A. systems and furniture pieces were made with compressed wood that contained unacceptable levels of formaldehyde, which was being banned in California. He was livid.

“The biggest problem I had with this law is that I found out about it through a third party less than a month before it took effect,” Maurer said. “I also object to the fact that it was imposed by non-elected officials.”

In the meantime, Maurer is holding a liquidation sale of dozens of these items, taking advantage of an exception to the law that allows stores to sell them if they are returns, trade-ins or open-box demos. However, after the sale he says he will have no more speakers or furniture to sell, and replacing them with “compliant” products is difficult. Many manufacturers he contacted were unaware of the law.

“It’s a real big mess,” he complained.

The seeds of this debacle were sown for Maurer’s store in 2004 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified formaldehyde as carcinogenic. For decades formaldehyde has been a key ingredient in the adhesives and resins of compressed wood and particleboard, which are found in everything from stereo furniture to household cabinets and mobile homes. Three years ago, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) made California the first state to outlaw sales of such products, a move that took effect Jan. 1.

During those ensuing three years CARB had publicized the law to those affected by contacting manufacturers, trade magazines and targeted business groups. However, Maurer said he doesn’t recall seeing or hearing any such notices.

CARB public-information officer Dimitri Stanich said some stores in smaller areas didn’t hear about it because they may not have access to the contacts or business organizations available in larger areas.

He said that such businesses that appeal for more time are being considered for an extension of the law’s deadline.

“The law won’t be enforced in these cases through the first half of January until a decision is made on extending the deadline,” Stanich said.

Sellers of new mobile homes were more fortunate, as their sales ban has been postponed indefinitely due to their high-dollar value and the impact of the ongoing recession.

Maurer laments that the 11 members of CARB are all political appointees.

“There should be at least one elected official on that board to answer for these types of decisions,” Maurer said.

CARB can assess large fines and perform an audit at any time, he said.

“What happened to democracy?” he asked.

Stanich countered that CARB laws are not made in a vacuum. There is an elaborate public-notification process, with workshops that allow for input and objections by businesses and the public. CARB is required to address these objections in writing and accommodate them in the final regulation, if feasible. He also points out that the board is answerable to the governor, who can dismiss members who act recklessly.

CARB pollution specialist Lynn Baker said that the law is responsible and protects the public. He emphasized that it is nearly impossible to correlate an illness such as cancer to a specific product, but that CARB is required to seek out sources of toxicity such as formaldehyde and diminish them. He pointed out that the largest source of indoor exposure to formaldehyde is from compressed-wood products and said it can also exacerbate breathing difficulties such as asthma.

“An important benefit of this law is that when it’s fully implemented it will result in 500 less tons of formaldehyde in California’s air each year,” Stanich said.

He said a nearly identical nationwide ban is being formulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The manager of another Chico stereo store, All Around Mobile Sound, also disagrees with the ban but is not affected by it.

“It’s a bullshit law, but we constantly buy all new products that have been in compliance for years,” said Jesse Meyers. “You probably couldn’t find a single person in the world who’s been harmed by owning these products unless you decide not to leave your home when it’s on fire.”

Larger chain stores that may have been affected by the law, such as Walmart and Best Buy, refused to comment.

Meyer and Maurer both said they hope the law will be repealed and point to the anti-CARB group KillCARB.org as a way to accomplish this.

Maurer says the moral to this story is that it shows a state agency out of control and simply looking for new laws to pass.

“I don’t remember anyone ever being poisoned by their coffee table,” Maurer said. “I’ve lost a lot of sleep over this train wreck.”