Case Study 1: Floor finishers, lacquer sealers, and fires: safer product alternatives are the solution
By Pia Markkanen, David Kriebel, Joel Tickner, and
Molly M. Jacobs
[Download PDF] 13 pages
Three Vietnamese floor finishers were killed in two separate fires in Massachusetts in 2004 and 2005. In each case, highly flammable lacquer sealer vapors ignited and flashed almost instantly across a newly varnished floor, causing a deadly inferno.
What’s the best way to prevent fires caused by quick-drying floor finishes? Substitute a safer product.
Despite the challenges in creating protections for floor finishers, this case study has a hopeful ending: grassroots organizing can lead to practices that protect workers—in this case, replacing dangerous products with safer alternatives.
Additional Resources
- Massachusetts Law Banning the Sale and Use of Lacquer Sealers (Chapter 154 of the Acts of 2010).
- Floor Finishing Hazards Report. Massachusetts Coalition For Occupational Safety and Health, 2005.
- Azaroff, L, Doan, T, Nguyen, H, Goldstein-Gelb, M, Fraser-Cook, M, Kota, S. Protecting workers and residents from wood floor-finishing hazards. New Solutions 2006; 16(2):119-38.
- Occupational Health Surveillance Program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of the State Fire Marshal of the Department of Fire Services. Wood Floor Sanders Killed When Floor Finishing Product Catches Fire - Massachusetts. Fire Safety Alert, 2006.
