Formaldehyde and indoor air quality

When you buy new furniture, shampoos and other hair products, or use vaccines or smoke a cigarette, or your new house has a sulfur smell, do you worry that they increase your exposure to environmental pollutants? Do chemicals pose a threat to you and your children, especially those with allergies? Put another way, do you recoil from those odors or do you find them quite pleasant?

There is an on-going debate about this. There is currently a bill before Congress but, as is often the case, California is way ahead. Regulations limiting emissions from composite wood products kicked in January 1, 2009 (more here). If you are a homeowner in a new home built since 2001 and it has a rotten egg smell, and you have charred, black electrical wires, or corroded air conditioning coils, corroded metals and jewelry and respiratory problems, you have a more specific problem, likely from Chinese drywall. Step One is to identify the problem (more here).

Turning to Formaldehyde, this is a chemical used in composite woods like plywood (in other words most cabinets and furniture, including audio speakers), drywall, paints, cosmetics and shampoos (especially nail hardeners and hair straighteners), textiles (especially new clothes and bed sheets), embalming fluid, cigarettes (including flavored brands), pesticides and vaccines. Because it is a “volatile organic compound” (VOC), it turns into gas at room temperature and it has a strong odor – some identify it with the smell of eggs although I associate it with new furniture – and many argue that it can be dangerous in less ventilated areas of the house. The EPA states that with long-term exposure it can become a "probable human carcinogen." Symptoms are said to include respiratory problems, headaches, irritation to eyes, nose and throat, dizziness and nausea. Complaints accelerated after the FEMA trailers used by Hurricane Katrina victims were found to be high in formaldehyde. But what if they are in your own home?

The chemical industry argues that these fears are overblown. The Formaldehyde Council (FCI) website points out (correctly) that formaldehyde “is essential to the workings of the human body and other biological systems and is used in making pill coatings, heart valves and vaccines.” The FDA acknowledges (on its website) that “it is used to inactivate viruses (e.g., influenza, polio) and to detoxify bacterial toxins, such as the toxin used to make diphtheria vaccine.  Formaldehyde is diluted during the manufacturing process, but residual quantities of formaldehyde may be found in some current vaccines.  The average quantity of formaldehyde to which a young infant could be exposed to at one time through vaccines is very small and is considered to be safe.  Although high concentrations of formaldehyde can damage DNA (the building block of genes) and cause cancerous changes in cells in the laboratory, formaldehyde is an essential component in human metabolism and is required for the synthesis of DNA and amino acids (the building blocks of protein).”

This does not reassure those with concerns about formaldehyde in the H1N1 vaccine, and it is true that some of the vaccines contain either “thimerosal, a mercury derivative, added as a preservative” or “residual amounts of formaldehyde”: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm186102.htm.  Defenders point out that the risk is minimal when compared with the threat posed by H1N1.

How long before Congress and the EPA turn their attention to cosmetics?  At present, cosmetics are not tested for safety and the FDA can only pull a product after it has received enough consumer complaints and evidence to prove in court that the product is dangerous. It may be fair to say that only those with allergies are vulnerable but that can be a lot of people.

In terms of local Encino merchants who are marketing themselves by avoiding chemicals whenever they can, here is one worth considering: The Futon Shop www.thefutonshop.com, which offers organic futon mattresses and sofabeds. They offer 24 chemical-free Cotton, Wool, Latex, Innerspring and Soy-based foams and memory foams.