Compensation awarded for some DMF sufferers
Around 2,000 people in the UK who suffered chemical burns after buying furniture that had been transported from Asia alongside sachets containing dimethyl fumarate (DMF) are to receive compensation.
It was decided last month that customers who bought their furniture from the now dissolved Land of Leather would not be in line for a payout. Its insurance provider, Zurich, successfully argued that the company had breached the terms of its insurance policy, and that it would therefore not cover the compensation claim.
However, insurers for Argos, Homebase, Walmsleys and some smaller companies have admitted liability for their customers' injuries and agreed to pay compensation claims. The High Court has ruled that altogether they must pay up to £20 million ($30.4 million) in compensation.
The reaction on people's skin was caused not by the leather or the furniture itself, but by anti-mould agent DMF. The International Union of Leather Technicians and Chemists Societies (IULTCS) points out that DMF is not used during the manufacture of leather articles, but it was placed in sachets that were put inside furniture, shoe boxes or other packaging material to inhibit mould that could otherwise harm the products during transport and storage.
IULTCS has said the fungicide is not used by any tanneries, and has not been used by the tanning industry to preserve finished leather.
Nevertheless, more than 4,000 people in the UK have experienced skin allergies, rashes and burns after using leather sofas bought from these UK furniture retailers. EU manufacturers were already banned from using the chemical, and, on March 17 2009, the EU made a formal ruling (2009/251/EC) that prohibited products containing DMF from being made available on the market in the EU after consumers in at least five member states suffered skin burns and breathing problems because of the chemical.
