Lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky said he had found a reason for his trademark irascibility: the decorative panels that exude the toxic chemical formaldehyde in State Duma offices.
The panels were installed for decoration in the offices of State Duma leaders instead of wallpaper and inspectors from the Consumer Protection Service have found formaldehyde levels seven times above the norm in Zhirinovsky's office, he told a legislative session, RIA Novosti reported.
The chemical — which is commonly used in automobile component production and as a disinfectant — hasn't helped his health or his temper, the Liberal Democratic Party leader added.
"I've been suffering for 20 years, thinking I wasn't feeling well," Zhirinovsky said before listing symptoms caused by his office like irritability and headaches, Itar-Tass reported.
"The Duma has been around for 20 years, and for 20 years they have been poisoning us," he said, Interfax reported. "Not intentionally, these are just cheap panels, using cheap chemicals."
He suggested replacing the panels with "ordinary wood or, better yet, with harmless materials." Zhirinovsky didn't specify which materials he might consider to be more harmless than wood.
The bombastic politician appears to have become more health conscious. Last month he pledged to turn all of his party members into vegetarians, proclaiming that meat was detrimental to their health.
