The only major manufacturer in Ireland of a highly successful wood substitute known as medium-density fibreboard has dismissed suggestions it poses a health risk.
This follows the British Health and Safety Executive announcement that it is to investigate possible health effects of the product. Its critics say it could be "the asbestos of the nineties".
MDF, as it's known, has been called "wonderwood" within the construction industry, particularly the DIY sector, because of its versatility.
It can be manufactured to almost any thickness, its surface is ideal for painting, veneering or laminating, and it can be cut smoothly without splintering.
Developed in the US, it is a compound of wood dust and scrap bonded by a resin containing the chemical formaldehyde. When MDF is cut, it releases clouds of dust particles coated with formaldehyde, which are easily inhaled. Some British trade unions have claimed that MDF is carcinogenic.
The managing director of Medite of Europe, which employs 216 people at its MDF manufacturing plant in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, said he was satisfied the product did not pose a risk to its workers, to those in the construction business, including DIY enthusiasts, or to people who had MDF in their homes or workplaces.
Some of the assumptions, including the suggestion that it was cancer-causing, were "not proven", Mr Rory Kirwan of Medite said. His company, owned by Williamette Industries in the US, produces 300,000 cubic metres of MDF. About 17 per cent is sold in Ireland, the remainder is exported to Europe.
While a study had shown that excess amounts of formaldehyde could cause cancer in rats, levels used in MDF manufacture had "very definitive controls", he said.
Normal permissible formaldehyde levels were 0.3 parts per million, a very tiny fraction of the dosages used in the study, while chemical emissions from the wood were less than 0.1 p.p.m. - natural raw wood had emissions of about a third of the latter figure.
The Irish Health and Safety Authority said it has received queries about MDF use and manufacture within Ireland but the content of free formaldehyde in use was "within accepted ranges". Its spokesman, Mr John Moran, said formaldehyde was a known risk in the workplace. "Best practice is being adhered to in Ireland. We are not aware of any cause for concern."
The sales manager of the Spanish-owned Finsa plant in Scarriff, Co Clare, Mr Leo Moloney, said its parent company made MDF and that it imported the product to laminate or veneer it. He was satisfied that all due safety precautions were in place.
The other major wood processers in Ireland are the US-owned Masonite plant in Co Leitrim, which makes moulded door facings using different resins (associated with lower emissions than formaldehyde), and Louisiana Pacific/Coillte in Waterford which makes oriented strand board.
The British Health and Safety Executive said there was evidence of formaldehyde-exposed workers having high rates of lung, nose or throat cancer, but the simple fact was "we do not know what the long-term effects of MDF are".
