United States receiving tainted plywood

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Environmental health officials have found that many planks of birch and poplar plywood in U.S. homes are emitting a high level of chemicals, a report said.

The levels of the chemical emissions are so elevated that much of this plywood is illegal to sell in countries such as China and the European Union, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Glues used to hold the plywood together contains formaldehyde, a cancer-causing chemical. Formaldehyde can come into interaction with humans as fumes waft off the glue.

However, the Times reported, this not stopped countries such as China from manufacturing chemical-laden plywood and shipping it to the United States to be sold at places like Home Depot and other home improvement stores.

Michael Wilson, a professor at UC Berkeley's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, told the newspaper he fears that the U.S. has become a "dumping ground" for consumer goods that are deemed dangerous in other parts of the world.