Formaldehyde - An Assessment of Its Health Effects (1980) / Chapter Skim
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Contents of Report
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From page 1... ...
From a review of several hundred references, it selected material pertinent to an assessment of the health risks associated with exposure to airborne formaldehyde. For more details and inclusive surveys of potential health ef feces, the reader is referred to several reviews on this sub ject ~ Battelle Columbus Laboratories, 19775; CIIT, 1979a;.
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Ground level air concentrations of 0.1 ppb beve been pro jeered from incinerator emissions (Battelle Columbus Laboratories, 19775~. Experimental incinerator exhaust contains formaldehyde at 0.1-1 ppm (Altshuller et al.
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Data on the airborne formaldehyde concentrations were not available. Approximately 30;` reported eye irritation, 33% irritation of the respiratory tract, and 2: nasal irritation.
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Application of a drop of formalin to rabbit eyes caused edema of the cornea and conjunctive and incites, graded ~ on a scale of 1-10 ~ Carpenter and Smyth, 1946~. Exposure of rabbits and guinea pigs to airborne formaldehyde at 40-70 ppm for 10 d produced some lacrimation, but no c orneal injury (Grant, 1974 ~ .
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3-50 ppm signif Scantly increased airway resistance and decreased lung compliance in guinea pig s af ter 1 h of exposure (Amdur, 1960~. The magnitude of the effects were dose-dependent over the range of concentrations tested.
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The group exposed at ~ ppm for 60 t showed eye and upper respiratory irritation, decreased body weight gain, and decreased liver weight. In another inhalation study, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys, and togs were exposed continuously at 3.8 ppm for- 90 d (Coon et al., 1970~.
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A single squamous cell carcinoma of the skin was seen after 10 ma in the group of rats exposed at 6 ppm; this tumor was not of the same type observed at 15 ppm and did not invade the nasal epithelium. Additional preliminary results have shown the presence of nasal carcinomas in ~ of 40 rats exposed at 15 ppm and sacrif iced at 18 ma and nasal carcinomas in 29 other rats exposed at 15 ppm that wed e moribund or died spontaneously between the sixteenth and eighteenth months (CIIT, 198~)
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Fomaidehyde has exhibited mutagenic activity in a wide variety of organisms, but the mechanism of formaldehyde mutagenesis has not been resolved. Formaldehyde may cause mutations by reacting directly with DNA; by forming mutagenic products on reaction with amino groups on simple amines, amino acids, nucleic acids, or proteins; or by oxidizing to peroxides that can react directly with BNA or indirectly by fsee-ratical formation.
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From page 9... ...
When asked about their subjective response to formaldehyde, subjects exposed at the four increasing formaldehyde concentrations reported " slight discomfort" averaging 9, 5, 11, ant IS, respectively, on a scale of zero to 100. Specifically, the sub jects complained of con junctival irritation and dryness of the nose ant throat.
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Subjective eye irritation was scored on a scale of zero to 24. Between 0.3 and l.
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Controlled human exposures indicated that the group threshold for eye irritation was I 2 prom, and for eye-bli~cing rate was I.7 ppm (Weber~Tschopp et al., 1977 )
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Employees reported increased eye and upper respiratory tract irritation in areas where large quantities of partially completed permanent-press fabrics accumulated. Olfactory adaptation to the irritant effects of formaldehyde occurred within 30 win of exposure, but af ter a 1- to 2-h interruption of exposure irritation returned ~ Blejer ant Miller, 1966; Kerfoot and Mooney, 1975; Shipkovitz, 1968~.
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From page 13... ...
Interim reset ts of a chronic inhalation study have shown squamous cell carcinomas in the nasomaxillary epitheliums of rats exposed at 15 ppm, 6 in/d, 5 d/wk for 18 mot There is no published evidence that formaldehyde is carcinogenic in animals. Formaldehyde, either itself or as ~IT, does not appear to interfere with reproduction, nor is there evidence of malformations in offspring of exposed parents.
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From page 14... ...
The analytical methods for measuring airborne fons~aldehdye have been extensively revived (USDREW, 1976a; N~C,[19803 ~ and are briefly summarized here. Spectrophotometric methods are most commonly used for determining the formaldehyde concentrations in indoor environments; chromotropic acid (4,5dihydroxy-2, 7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid)
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From page 15... ...
It should be noted that the preliminary results of an ongoing study (CIIT, 1979b) , which is showing squamous cell carcinomas in the nasomaxillary epithelium of rats, were not available when the above-mentioned foreign standards were established; the impact of these new findings on recent recommendations in those countries is not known.
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When these test sub jeers were exposed to fo rmaldehyde vapo rs at 0.5-1.5 ppm, the following responses were reported: decrease in nasalmucus flow, irritation of nose and throat, dryness in nose and throat (94ZO of sub jects in one study) , moderate eye irritation (27)
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From page 17... ...
Although the extent of irritancy has not been investigated in controlled human studies at concentrations below 0.25 ppm, the Committee expects that less than 20% of an exposed Harmon population would react to such formaldehyde exposure with slight irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat and possibly a slight decrease in nasal-mucus flow. As yet there is no evidence of a population threshold for the irritant effects of formaldehyde in humans.
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From page 18... ...
o effects of prolonged continuous exposures of various animal species to airborne formaldehyde at low concentrations. The reproductive and teratogenic effects of formaldehyde also need further investigations.
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From page 19... ...
concentrations likely to occur in indoor, outdoor, and workplace air . o an analysis of the atmospheric fate of formaldehyde in indoor air, including decay rates and effects of such variables as temperature and humidity o an analysis of sources of formaldehyde other than urea-formaldehyde resins that contribute to the overall formaldehyde burden in indoor air.
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