Stand 'n Seal Recall: When Hazardous Products Stay On the Market

Portland, ORIn the midst of the massive recalls that have been announced recently, proponents of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPCS) have argued that the agency works wells at protecting consumers. Unfortunately, the people injured by [Stand 'n Seal] can attest otherwise. They know that they would not have become ill if the product's recall had been properly carried out. Stand 'n Seal has been linked to lung damage.

Stand 'n Seal was recalled in 2005 due to concerns that the product was unsafe and hazardous to consumer health. Back in 2005 at least two people died and 80 more were injured after using the product, which led to a recall announcement. Yet somehow cans of Stand 'n Seal were still being sold in Home Depot two years after the recall was announced.

The problem with Stand 'n Seal spray involves one of the chemicals used in the product. At the time the recall was announced, one of the manufacturer Roanoke's suppliers had switched from using DuPont's Zonyl 225 to Innovative Chemical Technologies' Flexipel S-22WS as the active ingredient. But Flexipel S-22WS comes with a warning that it should not be used in aerosol or spray form because severe respiratory problems can occur. This warning was somehow ignored and the chemical was used in Stand 'n Seal spray.

How could a hazardous product stay on the market? According to an editorial in the Toledo Blade, Roanoke (now known as BRTT), reissued cans of Stand 'n Seal to Home Depot stores with the same harmful chemical after the recall was announced. All the manufacturer did was to add a warning that the product should be used in ventilated areas. The company then told Home Depot that its product was completely safe and told the CPSC the same thing.

The company itself has acted reprehensibly in not properly notifying either the CPSC or consumers about problems with its product. Despite laws mandating that possible hazards must be reported to the CPSC within 24 hours, it took weeks from the time the company received the first report of serious health concerns associated with Stand 'n Seal to the time it notified the CPSC. The New York Times (October 8, 2007) notes that the company only made the report because a physician in Denver told Roanoke that he would be calling the CPSC himself. By the time a recall was announced, three months had passed from the original reports of problems with Stand 'n Seal spray.

Complications associated with using Stand 'n Seal spray were serious. Two people died while others experienced severe health problems, including chemical inflammation of the lungs. Many required days in intensive care and some wound up using oxygen tanks afterwards. Other complications included dizziness, nausea, headaches, foaming at the mouth and loss of consciousness. Victims as young as 11 years old were affected by Stand 'n Seal spray. Allegedly, Richard Tripodi, chief executive at Roanoke, told a staff member not to let concerned consumers know that there were others like them because "doing so may cause unnecessary concern".

Stand 'n Seal was designed to seal grout around tiles. Its label claimed that extra spray would "evaporate harmlessly." The product was sold exclusively at Home Depot stores and promotional material showed a person using the grout sealant with no mask in front of a closed window.

Lawsuits have been filed against Roanoke alleging the company is responsible for injury to people who used Stand 'n Seal spray. Critics of Stand 'n Seal argue the company knew about the serious risks of its grout sealer but failed to properly warn the public about those risks and put profits ahead of public safety.