Q: Is it safe to use or to be in a building where Moisture Cure Urethane hardwood floor finish is used during pregnancy?
A: I’ve never used moisture cure but I have used acid cure (aka “Swedish finish”) many times and hear it is comparable. I would definitely not recommend it. The smell, gasping and burning eyes would likely drive you out within minutes anyway.
Follow-up Q: Looking at the MSDS it says Moisture Cure Urethane MCU contains Xylene, Ethyl Benzene, BETX Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) Poly cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Acetates, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Would it help you to get a rather clear answer?
A: That about answers your question! But, I love the smell of benzene in the morning.
Note from Webmaster: Moms and Dads-to-be, if you land on this page wondering about “regular” finish while pregnant, here’s a Q&A on that.
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Letter: Tragic results from exposure to toxic chemicals during my pregnancy
The first day of November 2016 was Rosh Chodesh Kislev. That was the day I gave birth to my baby boy. An hour later, my husband and I said our final goodbye to him.
My son was born with anencephaly, a serious birth defect where the baby is born missing parts of the brain and skull. Thankfully, we were prepared for this terrible event, having learned about his condition at an earlier sonogram.
One of the known causes for this tragic condition is exposure to toxic chemicals in early pregnancy. I would like to share my story in the hope that other readers will understand the dangers of moisture cure urethane (MCU) hardwood floor finish.
When we decided to scrape the floors in our home, wanting to do our due diligence, we asked Mr. Sofer — a man who is very educated about toxic chemicals that are used in paint and floor finish — for his advice. He warned us not to do it as it was potentially dangerous, especially to an unborn baby. At that time, I was not yet aware that I was expecting, so we chose to go ahead with it, in spite of the advice he gave us.
Incredibly, the scrapers who did the work told us that MCU is safe.
In case there are those who suspect that there might have been other causes for my son’s condition, I need to note that I had no infections or viruses throughout the entire time. This medical condition also has no genetic explanation, and I took plenty of folic acid throughout.
I believe that my child was a korban of MCU, and I hope that in the zechus of my doing my part in bringing awareness of this issue, and thereby, b’ezras Hashem, preventing the pain for other parents, my child’s pure neshamah, which returned to Shamayim much too soon, will have an aliyah.
I hope my story will serve as a wake-up call to people so they won’t repeat the fatal mistake we made.
Mrs. H.
Monsey, NY
P.S. Moisture Cure Urethane ingredients are Xylene, Toluene Diisocyanate TDI, Ethyl Benzene, Ethyoxy Ethanol Acetate, Parachloro Benzotri Fluoride, Tert Butyl Acetate, Aromatic hydrocarbons and more…