Claims in Sweden that textile floor coverings cause allergic reactions in some people have not been adequately proved, according to two Swedish scientists.There were intensive discussions and reports in Sweden in the seventies claiming that carpet was the source of harmful contaminants, resulting in allergic reactions. As a result, Swedish consumers and public building officials severely reduced their use of carpet. Carpet’s share of the total floorcovering market in Sweden dropped from 40% in the mid-seventies to only 2% in 1992.
Based on historical figures published by the Swedish Statistical Central Bureau in the early nineties, Professors Roshan L. Shishoo and Alf Börjesson, Swedish Institute of Fibre and Polymer Research, published an article for Carpet & Floor covering Review, pointing out that while the use of carpet in Sweden had steadily decreased since 1975, the occurrences of allergic reactions in the general population had increased.
Professors Shishoo and Börjesson argue that the removal and decline of carpet usage did not mean improved conditions for allergic patients. On the contrary, they missed the advantages of carpet such as comfort, insulation, and noise reduction.
CARPET USAGE & ALLERGIC REACTIONS IN SWEDEN
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