Friday, July 2, 2010
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a commonly used chemical found in many consumer products and building materials. It can be found in such products as plywood, carpeting, paint and insulation to name a few items. Formaldehyde is also a by-product of combustion and other industrial processes. In new construction, and in recently remodeled buildings, the new building materials, coatings and furnishing often off-gas high levels of formaldehyde and other VOCs. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen. The health effects associated with elevated levels of formaldehyde exposure have been closely studied in recent years and have brought to light the dangers from prolonged and repeated exposure. Exposure to elevated levels of formaldehyde can also trigger asthma attacks, nausea, watery eyes, headaches and difficulty breathing as well as other health problems. The current “permissible exposure limits” (PELs) for formaldehyde in the workplace are 0.75 parts per million (ppm) as an 8 hour time-weighted average (TWA). This means that exposures for an 8 hour work day should not exceed 0.75 ppm PEL. “The length of exposure to formaldehyde, or to other VOCs, and the overall health of those being exposed are all factors that determine how building occupants will react when exposed,” reported Ed Chambers, President of EC2, Inc. (ec2). “Residential and commercial property owners in the greater Chicago area and Northern Illinois call on ec2 as the experts when problems with indoor air quality, formaldehyde or other VOCs occur.” EC2, with over 4,000 IAQ investigations successfully resolved to date, has the experience and knowledge to quickly solve clients’ IAQ problems.
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"The current “permissible exposure limits” (PELs) for formaldehyde in the workplace are 0.75 parts per million (ppm)..." was the limit in effect at the time Fed OSHA was formed. It was adopted as an interm standard. Four decades later, they are still working on establishing the first permenant standard.
ReplyDeleteThe are many other standards that have been established during these four decades including:
American Conference of Industrial Hygienists that has a STEL (15-minute, short-term exposure limit) of 0.300 ppm
Fed EPA that requires that office buildings be below 0.016 ppm before their employees can occupy
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessments reduced their residential expousre recommendation from 0.027 ppm to 0.007 ppm in Decmeber 2008.
Using the current but accient OSHA PEL endagers the health of the people exposed to those levels. The typical FEMA trailer was 0.077 ppm and look at the negative healt effects experienced.
Additionally, formaldehyde also comes from old construction material. I finally traced my health issues to 47 year old particle board that was still raising the room concentration of formaldehyde to 0.093 ppm. The source is removed and my health returned with no other changes.