I have recently worked at a place assembling kitchen cabinets that were made in china. I had heard some disturbing facts about these cabinets. I did some research about Chinese cabinets and have found some disturbing facts. The plywood used for these cabinets contain up to 100 x the content of formaldehyde that american manufacturers are allowed to use. It is estimated that 1.2 million children in china die each year from exposure to these cabinets by way of leuchemia or cancer. I always wondered why when I got a splinter from this plywood it got very infected...even from the smallest of splinters. Also the high content of formaldehyde causes the glue to fail prematurely and the plywood starts to delaminate within three years. This I have confermed because many cabinets I assembled delaminated when even a small staple was used in fastening. The finish used on these is a one step process consisting of the stain being added to the lacquer with no hardener added. It is the poorest finish I have seen. So....if you already have these cabinets in your home and cannot afford to have them replaced keep that particular room cool as possible as heat and humidity releases the formaldehyde at a much faster rate.
Q