If you thought it was impossible for things to get worse for former coworking darling WeWork, think again. Following the withdrawal of its IPO and the resignation of Adam Neumann as CEO, thousands of the company’s phone booths were marked to have “potentially elevated levels of formaldehyde.”
“WeWork is taking a number of phone booths out of service at some of our U.S. and Canada locations due to potentially elevated levels of formaldehyde caused by the manufacturer,” the company told ABC News in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our members is our top priority, and we are working to remedy this situation as quickly as possible.”
Formaldehyde is often used in wood construction, but elevated levels of exposure can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, nose and throat, as well as types of cancer.
The firm performed a series of tests on a sampling of phone booths after a member complained of odor and eye irritation.
Currently, WeWork has identified 1,600 phone booths across their U.S. and Canada locations and is also taking an additional 700 phone booths out of service for more testing.
