Silent Spring

Chemicals in Sofas Causes Serious Burns to Customers

More than 2000 people in the United Kingdom suffered serious burns from chemicals that were put into sofas made in China. More than 100,000 of the sofas are thought to have been sold on the High Streets in the UK. The chemical in question Dimethyl Fumarate (DMF) were put into satchets, which were then inserted into the sofas to stop them from going mouldy while they were in storage in Asia.

Retailers in the UK were unaware that the chemicals were been used in the sofas and sold them unwittingly to their customers. But in the homes of those that bought the sofas, the solid chemicals turned into gas which went through the customers clothes burning and irritating their skins.

Many people developed painful rashes all over their bodies. A few suffered from severe blood poisoning. Thousands suffered as a result of using the sofas they bought which contained DMF.

Unfortunately, there are still thousands of suites that still contain the chemical. The EU have issued a directive, and have stated that DMF have to be removed from all products and products containing the chemical can no longer be sold. In the UK, a judge at the High Court has ordered that many popular High Street retailers pay out more than £20 million in compensation to the many people that have suffered burns due to the ‘toxic sofas’.