Formaldehyde Assessment & Monitoring and Analysis
Request a QuoteService Location: Bharat
Audit Type: Third Party
Formaldehyde (molecular formula H2-C=O; CAS number 50-00-0) is a colourless gas, flammable and highly reactive at room temperature. Formaldehyde can also be obtained commercially as a 30 50% (by weight) aqueous solution, known as formalin. Formaldehyde is ubiquitously found in the environment, because it is formed primarily by numerous natural sources and anthropogenic activities. In the environment, it is released through biomass combustion (forest and bush fires) or decomposition and through volcanoes, for example. Anthropogenic sources include direct ones such as on-site industrial emissions and fuel combustion from traffic. Other combustion processes (power plants, incineration, etc.) also represent sources of formaldehyde emissions in the atmosphere. However, formaldehyde is also extensively produced industrially worldwide for use in the manufacture of resins, as a disinfectant and fixative, or as a preservative in consumer products. All these man-made products and uses are the major indirect sources of formaldehyde, in particular indoors. Finally, it should be noted that secondary formation of formaldehyde occurs in air through the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and reactions between ozone (mainly from outdoors) and alkenes (especially terpenes) have been widely described. The contribution of these secondary chemical processes to the ambient and indoor concentrations is still not fully quantified. Formaldehyde sources in indoor environments include: furniture and wooden products containing formaldehyde-based resins such as particleboard, plywood and medium-density fibreboard; insulating materials (in the early 1980s, urea formaldehyde foam insulation was a major source of indoor pollution); textiles; do-it-yourself products such as paints, wallpapers, glues, adhesives, varnishes and lacquers; household cleaning products such as detergents, disinfectants, softeners, carpet cleaners and shoe products; cosmetics such as liquid soaps, shampoos, nail varnishes and nail hardeners; electronic equipment, including computers and photocopiers; and other consumer items such as insecticides and paper products. Formaldehyde reacts rapidly at the site of contact and is swiftly metabolized in humans by erythrocytes, which contain the enzymes formaldehyde dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Formaldehyde reacts virtually instantaneously with primary and secondary amines, thiols, hydroxyls and amides to form methylol derivatives. Formaldehyde acts as an electrophile and can react with macromolecules such as DNA, RNA and protein to form reversible adducts or irreversible cross-linksFormaldehyde is major indoor pollutants with multiple origins. Standard methods exist to measure them that require analytical expertise and provide, at best, an average value of their concentrations. There is a need to monitor them continuously during periods of several days, weeks, or even months. Recently, portable devices have become available. If