Worried About Formaldehyde?

Worried About Formaldehyde? FARM HOME Food 6-4-22 If you're worried that foam insulation or possibly other products in your home may be giving off toxic levels of formaldehyde, you can know for sure with a new low cost home monitor from the 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn. The monitor, which sells for $35, can be clipped to clothing, or on a lamp shade or light fixture in a room for 24 hours to measure the concentration in a home. After exposure, it is mailed to the 3M Company for analysis and report. The monitor is not reuseable. "This new method of detection is inexpensive when compared with some laboratories that charge up to $300," says Tom Clark of the company's Occupational Health and Safety Products Division. "Excess amounts of formaldehyde affect the mucous membranes of the body. People may have the mistaken idea that they have a cold, but the monitor will tell whether the problem is formaldehyde. "The most common product causing the problem in homes is probably foam insulation. Many older homes have been winterized with a ureaformaldehyde foam which sometimes keeps emitting fumes into the house. Mobile homes are often more hazardous because of the large amount of this type of insulation used in them," Clark points out. "Formaldehyde is used in hundreds of products. It's in fiberboard, adhesives, paints, varnishes, buttons, dinnerware, paper towels, hand lotions, disinfectants, and permanent press clothing, to name just a few." You probably won't smell it, but the monitor will detect it in amounts of a fraction of a part per million. The natural environment probably carries up to .03 ppm (parts per million), but there is no federal standard for tolerance. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that concentrations in the work place should be below 3.0 ppm, and the state of Minnesota sets an upper level of 0.5 ppm. Formaldehyde fumes may dissipate with time, but they can build up when a house is tightly closed. Although no specific tests have been made on the effects of formaldehyde on animals, there is reason to believe that dangerous amounts could build up where livestock are confined in a building made of materials containing formaldehyde, Clark points out. For information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, 3M Company, Box 43157, St. Paul, Minn. 55164 (ph 612 733-1110).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.