Loudon, Tennessee -- The PFA (Polyurethane Foam Association) says it's not surprised that a federally funded study found no evidence that residents living near foam plants using TDI (toluene diisocyanate) in North Carolina in the US were being adversely affected by TDI exposure.
"The results confirm what we've always known," said Robert Luedeka, director of the PFA. "US foam plants take great pride in being good neighbours with clean operations. Flexible polyurethane foam is used in hundreds of consumer products to provide comfort, support, safety and durability," he added.
The results of the community health study released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) found "no evidence of residents near foam plants being adversely affected by possible exposure to TDI," a 2 June PFA statement said.
Robert Langley, medical epidemiologist with the NC DHHS who led the study, said, "There is no evidence of adverse public health exposure to TDI. It can be assumed that TDI emissions are not a public health problem in these communities."
"I'd like to thank industry," Douglas Campbell, head of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch of NC DHHS, commented. "They are trying to be as proactive as they can be within the community. I think this study shows that those efforts are paying off," he added. (RD)
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