Formaldehyde
William J. Rea, Kalpana D. Patel in Reversibility of Chronic Disease and Hypersensitivity, Volume 4, 2017
Formaldehyde is an aliphatic hydrocarbon that is usually derived from petroleum, but it can be generated naturally at low levels in humans. It is widely distributed in products and industry, with uses in commerce and the home. Formaldehyde may also arise from the degradation of volatile organic chemicals commonly found in indoor air. Formaldehyde is a common air contaminant in urban areas and usually accounts for about 50% of the total aldehydes in polluted air. According to the Toxics Release Inventory, in 1996, 21 million pounds of formaldehyde were released to the environment from 674 domestic manufacturing and processing facilities. Although source factors are the most important aspect of formaldehyde pollution, levels of emission are further influenced by several environmental variables, including fluctuations in indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, and ventilation. Some chemically sensitive patients exhibit slow clearing rates, while others develop total anosmia to formaldehyde due to damage of the olfactory nerve.
Nasal Cavity Carcinogens: Possible Routes of Metabolic Activation
D. V. M. Gerd Reznik, Sherman F. Stinson in Nasal Tumors in Animals and Man, 2017
A variety of chemicals induce nasal cavity cancer in experimental animals. Many of these compounds also give tumors in other organs, depending on the species and route of administration. In almost every case, studies on the metabolic conversion of these compounds to reactive intermediates that can covalently bind to cellular macromolecules (metabolic activation) have been carried out in tissues other than the nasal cavity. Thus, the mechanisms of metabolic activation of nasal cavity carcinogens are really not known. In this chapter, some of the major metabolic pathways that could possibly be involved in carcinogenesis by a representative group of nasal cavity carcinogens will be outlined. This includes various nitrosamines, industrial solvents, alkylating agents, haloalkanes and haloalkenes, and miscellaneous substances such as p -cresidine, phenacetin, nickel, formaldehyde, and isopropyl oils. These compounds were chosen because of their structural diversity and, in many cases, their environmental importance.
Formaldehyde
James L. Schardein, Orest T. Macina in Human Developmental Toxicants, 2006
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas used in the production of resins, wood products, plastics, fertilizers, and foam insulation. It also has utility as a textile finish, preservative, stabilizer, disinfectant, and antibacterial food additive. In solution as formalin, it has uses as a disinfectant, and the total number of products containing formaldehyde exceeds 3000, any of which may give off formaldehyde vapors. There is one poorly documented foreign report in which lower birth weights were said to be recorded among 446 females exposed to formaldehyde vapor at concentrations ranging from 1.2-3.6 ppm compared to 200 control women. In the absence of corroborating and better validated studies, this report is not included as being valid. Laboratory animal studies by the inhalational route have been limited to the rat, and their relevance to human exposures is unknown. Formaldehyde is one of the smallest organic human developmental toxicants. It is hydrophilic and is capable of participating in hydrogen bonding interactions as an acceptor.
Undeclared formaldehyde levels in patient consumer products: formaldehyde test kit utility
Published in Cutaneous and Ocular Toxicology, 2019
Jason E. Ham, Paul D. Siegel, Howard Maibach
Purpose: Formaldehyde allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) may be due to products with free formaldehyde or formaldehyde-releasing agents; however, assessment of formaldehyde levels in such products is infrequently conducted. The present study quantifies total releasable formaldehyde from “in-use” products associated with formaldehyde ACD and tests the utility of commercially available formaldehyde spot test kits. Materials and Methods: Personal care products from 2 patients with ACD to formaldehyde were initially screened at the clinic for formaldehyde using a formaldehyde spot test kit. Formaldehyde positive products were sent to the laboratory for confirmation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In addition, 4 formaldehyde spot test kits were evaluated for potential utility in a clinical setting. Results: Nine of the 10 formaldehyde spot test kit positive products obtained from formaldehyde allergic patients had formaldehyde with total releasable formaldehyde levels ranging from 5.4 to 269.4 µg/g. Of these, only two shampoos tested listed a formaldehyde-releasing agent in the ingredients or product literature. Subsequently, commercially available formaldehyde spot test kits were evaluated in the laboratory for ability to identify formaldehyde in personal care products. Conclusions: Chemical based formaldehyde spot test were more reliable than the enzymatic based test in identifying product releasable formaldehyde content. It is concluded that product labeled ingredient lists and available information are often inadequate to confirm the potential for formaldehyde exposure and chemical based spot test kits may have utility for identification of potential formaldehyde exposure from personal care products.
Inhalation Exposure to Formaldehyde and Toluene in the Same Occupational and Consumer Setting
Published in Inhalation Toxicology, 2007
John E. McNary, Edward M. Jackson
Formaldehyde, a natural component of all mammalian cells, is metabolized to carbon dioxide. It is a colorless gas used as a preservative and a reactant in chemical processes in a wide variety of commercial and consumer products. Toluene is an organic solvent also used in a wide variety of commercial and consumer products. There is a growing concern that chemical exposure from consumer products including cosmetics adds to the overall toxic exposure bioburden. This study was designed to quantify the actual amount of formaldehyde and toluene exposure to professional nail technicians and their customers during the application of cosmetic nail products containing either formaldehyde or toluene. Formaldehyde concentrations were measured on workers and consumers using treated silica gel absorption tubes. Formaldehyde concentrations varied between 0.0012 and 0.0038 ppm. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that neither workers nor consumers are at any additional risk from exposure to formaldehyde or toluene in cosmetic nail products beyond daily exposure from commercial products in a work setting and in the home.
Does occupational exposure to formaldehyde cause hematotoxicity and leukemia-specific chromosome changes in cultured myeloid progenitor cells?
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2017
Kenneth A. Mundt, Alexa E. Gallagher, Linda D. Dell, Ethan A. Natelson, Paolo Boffetta, P. Robinan Gentry
Several cross-sectional studies of a single population of workers exposed to formaldehyde at one of two factories using or producing formaldehyde–melamine resins in China have concluded that formaldehyde exposure induces damage to hematopoietic cells that originate in the bone marrow. Moreover, the investigators interpret observed differences between groups as evidence that formaldehyde induces myeloid leukemias, although the mechanisms for inducing these diseases are not obvious and recently published scientific findings do not support causation. Our objective was to evaluate hematological parameters and aneuploidy in relation to quantitative exposure measures of formaldehyde. We obtained the study data for the original study (Zhang et al. 2010) and performed linear regression analyses. Results showed that differences in white blood cell, granulocyte, platelet, and red blood cell counts are not exposure dependent. Among formaldehyde-exposed workers, no association was observed between individual average formaldehyde exposure estimates and frequency of aneuploidy, suggested by the original study authors to be indicators of myeloid leukemia risk.