Paul Cochrane | Formaldehyde in Your Home: What You Need to Know @IAQMarketer | Uploaded December 2019 | Updated October 2024, 3 minutes ago.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has provided information about the potential for formaldehyde exposure in homes. This includes the federal public health agency’s findings and suggestions for reducing exposure to this chemical that was listed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in 2011 as “known to be a human carcinogen.”
The agency reports that coming into contact with formaldehyde by breathing it or touching it may affect people’s health, so reducing the levels of it in a home is beneficial. While there are small amounts of formaldehyde in nearly all homes, levels are higher in:
• Homes with smokers. Tobacco smoke contains formaldehyde. If someone in the home smokes tobacco products, the smoke may be the greatest source of formaldehyde in the home.
• Homes with new products or new construction. Formaldehyde levels are higher in various new manufactured wood products.
New products listed by the agency that often contain high levels of formaldehyde include:
• Some manufactured wood products such as cabinets, furniture, plywood, particleboard and laminate flooring.
• Permanent press fabrics. (like those used for curtains and drapes or on furniture)
• Household products such as glues, paints, caulks, pesticides, cosmetics and detergents.
There are also a number of helpful tips provided by the agency to lower levels of formaldehyde inside of homes, like letting new products that contain the chemical off-gas outside of living spaces and buying products labeled “No VOC or Low VOC.”
Regarding the health effects of formaldehyde exposure in the home, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry shares the following:
Most people don’t have any health problems from small amounts of formaldehyde in their homes. As levels increase, some people have breathing problems or irritation of the eyes, nose, throat or skin from formaldehyde exposure in their homes. These health effects can happen in anyone, but children, older adults, and people with asthma and other breathing problems are more likely to have these symptoms. If you or someone in your home has these symptoms, follow the steps to reduce indoor formaldehyde levels. If the symptoms continue, talk to a doctor about them. Breathing in very high levels of formaldehyde over many years has been linked to rare nose and throat cancers in workers.
For those that want to have a home tested, the ATSDR recommends they hire a qualified professional who has the training and equipment to test formaldehyde levels.
These are just a few things to know about formaldehyde and common sources of exposure in a home. To learn more about this or other air testing, building science, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has provided information about the potential for formaldehyde exposure in homes. This includes the federal public health agency’s findings and suggestions for reducing exposure to this chemical that was listed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in 2011 as “known to be a human carcinogen.”
The agency reports that coming into contact with formaldehyde by breathing it or touching it may affect people’s health, so reducing the levels of it in a home is beneficial. While there are small amounts of formaldehyde in nearly all homes, levels are higher in:
• Homes with smokers. Tobacco smoke contains formaldehyde. If someone in the home smokes tobacco products, the smoke may be the greatest source of formaldehyde in the home.
• Homes with new products or new construction. Formaldehyde levels are higher in various new manufactured wood products.
New products listed by the agency that often contain high levels of formaldehyde include:
• Some manufactured wood products such as cabinets, furniture, plywood, particleboard and laminate flooring.
• Permanent press fabrics. (like those used for curtains and drapes or on furniture)
• Household products such as glues, paints, caulks, pesticides, cosmetics and detergents.
There are also a number of helpful tips provided by the agency to lower levels of formaldehyde inside of homes, like letting new products that contain the chemical off-gas outside of living spaces and buying products labeled “No VOC or Low VOC.”
Regarding the health effects of formaldehyde exposure in the home, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry shares the following:
Most people don’t have any health problems from small amounts of formaldehyde in their homes. As levels increase, some people have breathing problems or irritation of the eyes, nose, throat or skin from formaldehyde exposure in their homes. These health effects can happen in anyone, but children, older adults, and people with asthma and other breathing problems are more likely to have these symptoms. If you or someone in your home has these symptoms, follow the steps to reduce indoor formaldehyde levels. If the symptoms continue, talk to a doctor about them. Breathing in very high levels of formaldehyde over many years has been linked to rare nose and throat cancers in workers.
For those that want to have a home tested, the ATSDR recommends they hire a qualified professional who has the training and equipment to test formaldehyde levels.
These are just a few things to know about formaldehyde and common sources of exposure in a home. To learn more about this or other air testing, building science, industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
