Some of you know I write a jokey column occasionally called “I Told ‘Em!”, meaning I was there first, often by decades!
Years ago (in my 1992 book, to be exact) I wrote about the dangers of formaldehyde (aka. formic aldehyde, methanal, methyl aldehyde, methylene glycol, methylene oxide)…
There is probably no chemical so ubiquitous in our modern world, nor one so insidious and complex in its effects, as formaldehyde (commercial name: Formalin). Its very toxicity we exploit as an antiseptic. Its vigorous chemical aggressiveness we harness to participate in many chemical reactions, such as polymerization (stringing together long chains of molecules). The trouble is that we ourselves are also subject to its hostile effects.
It is an ingredient of fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides, glues, laminates, certain varnished and lacquers, medicated shampoos, germicidal soaps, mouthwashes, antiperspirants and deodorants. Burning organic matter causes formaldehyde to be given off in variable quantities. This includes bonfires, internal combustion engines, and pipe smoke, coal fires, gas fumes, incinerators, open fires, stoves and barbecues and the roasting of coffee beans and the toasting and browning of food.
Textiles are often treated with formaldehyde to improve the fastness of dyes, to make garments crease-proof, shrink-proof and waterproof and as part of the bleaching pre-treatment of wool. Workers in the textile industry or clothing shops are particularly at risk, but you may be able to recognize the characteristic odor from your own wardrobe if you are familiar with it.
Formaldehyde is given off as a vapor by many plastics and polymers, especially polyvinyl chloride (PVC), foam rubber (carpet backing, furniture padding) and expanded styrene.¹
[At present, cavity wall insulation in the UK is carried out by using expanded urea-formaldehyde foam in situ (UFFI); this insulation continues to give off formaldehyde fumes for many years, especially when heated… see below]
Food may be directly contaminated if formaldehyde has been used as an insecticides or fumigant, in storage or shipping or for sterilizing food containers. The FDA has also approved liquid formalin for use in the fishing industry. It is used as an anti-parasitic water treatment for certain types of fish you might eat, including salmon and catfish. It’s also used as an antifungal treatment on fish eggs.²
Pears, apples, bananas and grapes all contain significant (but not deadly) amounts of formaldehyde
The tanning of leather and vulcanization of rubber also involve the use of formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde occurs in newsprint, especially colored inks, and may be to blame if reading ‘fresh’ newspapers and magazines makes you sneeze.
Finally (no pun intended!), formaldehyde is used in embalming. But in 2018 the European Parliament voted to ban formaldehyde as an embalming fluid.
It is among the most common environmental sensitizers. Its effects on the brain can be dramatic. I have had patients who can’t go into a textile or carpet shop without completely losing track of what they are doing or why, often within seconds, so bad is the brain disorientation this chemical causes.
Banned
UK Building Regulations now prohibit the use of UFFI in “unsuitable” buildings. Essentially, this limits the use of the material to use within brick or block cavity construction, where the inner leaf has good resistance to vapor transmission.
In 1982 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, by a 4 to 1 vote, decided to ban the sale of urea formaldehyde foam insulation for use in residences and schools. The Commission noted that the product ban was based upon unreasonable risks to consumers from the irritation, sensitization and possible carcinogenic effects of formaldehyde emitted by UFFI.
But they spoiled this little piece of legislation by offering a (deliberate) loophole to manufacturers, because the ban provides for exemptions to any company which can demonstrate that it can consistently manufacture a UFFI product which does not pose an unreasonable risk to consumers.
ANY risk is unreasonable, surely?
It was never banned in Europe. Today, urea formaldehyde associated products are still produced, often disguised by tricky names such as: injection foam, dry-resin foam, amino foam, aminoplast foam and tri-polymer foam.
Truth is, Federal regulators have known for more than four decades that formaldehyde is toxic, but their attempts to limit the chemical have been repeatedly thwarted by the many companies that rely on it.
Cancer
Despite the fudging by the industry, the science is very clear: formaldehyde causes cancer. But STILL no comprehensive ban.
The EPA is supposed to protect us from hazards like this. Yet they have pussy-footed around the issue for decades. Now they have decided to go ahead BUT OMITTED ONE OF THE WORST CANCER HAZARDS! That is despite their own scientists insisting there is evidence that formaldehyde causes myeloid leukemia, a potentially fatal blood cancer that strikes an estimated 29,000 people in the U.S. each year.
Omitting this means that the cancer hazard is likely FOUR TIMES higher than they are claiming. I mean, whose side is the EPA on? Like the FDA, it consistently sides with the enemies of those it is supposed to be protecting.
The agency claims the decision to omit the leukemia figures was because its estimate for myeloid leukemia was “too uncertain” to include. But four former government scientists with experience doing statistical analyses of health harms considered the risk calculation was sound. One said the risk was even greater than the agency’s estimate.
The EPA has also negated some of its own findings on the other health effects of formaldehyde, which include asthma in both children and adults; other respiratory ailments, including reduced lung function; and reproductive harms, such as miscarriages and fertility problems. It all smacks of corruption and interference by the industry.
Bottom Line
A 2003 study showed that factory workers exposed to high levels of formaldehyde were 3 1/2 times more likely to develop myeloid leukemia than workers exposed to low levels of the chemical. “Having human data showing an effect like that … it’s a rare thing,” said Jennifer Jinot, PhD, one of the EPA scientists, statistician and toxicologist.
But the exposure in the home is even more significant, caused by formaldehyde in furniture, flooring, printer ink, and dozens of other products. The typical home has a formaldehyde level more than three times higher than the one the EPA says would protect people against respiratory symptoms.
The EPA’s own calculations show that formaldehyde exposure in those homes with significant formaldehyde levels would cause as many as 255 cancer cases in every million people exposed over their lifetimes — and that doesn’t reflect the risk of myeloid leukemia which, as I said, they just dumped altogether, as if it was no risk at all!³
So What Can We Do?
I hope it’s clear that trying to battle against corrupt bought-and-aid-for government agencies is going to lead nowhere. Maybe if Trump does succeed in “draining the swamp” as he promised, this might lead to a new dawn.
Meantime, the only advice I have for you is to deal with it yourself: create a chemically-safe local environment, to surround yourself and your family, and keep toxic substance at bay.
You can buy a formaldehyde detector like this on AliExpress for under $15.
Getting rid of the hazard means investing in an air purifier (we have two in our home, one for the salon and one for the bedroom). The bedroom is the most important of the two, since we spend approximately one third of our lives in that room.
We use the Air Doctor, which isn’t too expensive, but at least get an activated carbon model that can deal with VOCs (volatile organic compounds). There are options available but beware: some of those pretending to help you may also be as corrupt and dishonest as the industry itself.
To clean air.
Prof. Keith Scott-Mumby
The Official Alternative Doctor
References:
- Mumby, K. The Complete Guide to Food Allergies and Environmental Illness. Harper-Collins, 1993.
- https://www.verywellfit.com/formaldehyde-in-food-what-you-need-to-know-4692816
- https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/othercancers/113208
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