Are Office Chairs Dangerous?
Office chairs do indeed pose certain dangers, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Safety hazards: There have been multiple recalls of office chairs in the market, with problems centered on component failures such as backrest breakage and bolt failure. These failures can directly cause users to fall and get injured, with a cumulative total of 19 injury reports so far. For example, backrest breakage may cause users to fall backward without warning, while bolt failure can loosen the chair's structure, causing it to suddenly collapse during use and injure the user.
Explosion risks: Poor-quality gas springs are the main cause of explosions. Thin walls of the gas spring, impure inert gases, or even the use of compressed air instead of inert gases, along with excessive heat generated by frequent raising and lowering of the seat during use, can all lead to office chair explosions. In 2017, an office chair belonging to a colleague of a netizen in Anhui exploded, separating the chair base from the seat and breaking it into two pieces, also damaging the nearby computer tower. In 2009, a 14-year-old boy in Jiaozhou, Shandong, was seriously injured by an exploding office chair at home and died despite rescue efforts. Additionally, the lack of an explosion-proof steel plate also increases the risk of explosion. The explosion-proof steel plate, which must be at least 2 millimeters thick, is designed to prevent the gas spring from exploding and piercing the seat, causing harm to the user. However, some office chairs do not have an explosion-proof steel plate installed, resulting in failed safety inspections. In 2024, national inspections found that 23.3% of non-compliant chairs had explosion hazards.
Other risks: Some office chairs have issues with excessive formaldehyde levels. Formaldehyde is a harmful gas, and long-term exposure can pose health risks to humans, even increasing the risk of cancer. Additionally, some office chairs have thin and weak five-star foot tubes, which are prone to breakage during daily use, potentially causing users to fall and affecting their safety.
