Why Is Formaldehyde Used In So Many Products?
Formaldehyde is a versatile chemical with numerous applications, but its reactivity renders it a high-risk irritant and a potential carcinogen. Known primarily as an embalming ingredient, it has numerous real-world applications in various industries, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.
Find out why you might even find formaldehyde in food and its link to increased cancer risks.
What Is Formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring organic compound that bonds easily with other molecules. A simple carbonyl molecule, formaldehyde is inexpensive, reactive, and ideally structured to create stable compounds in a wide range of manufacturing applications.
What Is Formaldehyde Used For?
Formaldehyde is primarily used as a binding agent in a range of resins and adhesives. Its chemical structure makes it useful as both a preservative and a disinfectant.
Formaldehyde in building materials: Used to bind resin in composite wood products, including plywood and fiberboard.
Formaldehyde in furniture: Used to create fiberboard and to create stain-proof, colorfast, wrinkle-resistant textiles.
Formaldehyde in pharmaceuticals: Used as a preservative in embalming, and in some vaccines to inactivate viruses and bacteria.
Formaldehyde in cosmetics: Used in minute amounts to prevent bacterial growth in soaps, lotions, and some cleaning products.
Formaldehyde in food: Formaldehyde is not added to food, but is a natural byproduct in many fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry products, and some dairy offerings.
Higher Concentrations, Higher Risks
Formaldehyde is also found in e-cigarettes and smokeless products like Zyn. It is not added to these products, but is created as a byproduct during the heating process. When propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin break down at high temperatures, they produce several chemicals, including formaldehyde.
In smokeless products like Zyn, formaldehyde is likely a contaminant from the manufacturing process. A 2022 study found that 26 of 44 nicotine pouch products contained formaldehyde and other carcinogens.
Read More: Why Many Psyllium Husk Products Have a Cancer Warning
What Does Formaldehyde Do to the Body?
In small amounts, the body breaks down formaldehyde into other chemicals. In higher concentrations, however, the body cannot break down the chemical quickly enough to avoid several short and long-term effects.
Acute formaldehyde side effects include:
Respiratory irritation, including wheezing, watery eyes, and a burning sensation in the nose and throat
Skin irritation
Dietary distress, including nausea, vomiting, and bleeding
Chronic formaldehyde side effects include:
Cancer
Allergic sensitization (severe allergic reactions to even small, natural amounts of formaldehyde)
Does Formaldehyde Cause Cancer?
Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen and is classified as such by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the US National Toxicology Program. Chronic exposure to formaldehyde in the workplace and consumer products has been linked to increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer, leukemia, and paranasal sinuses.
The most common exposure to formaldehyde is through inhalation, notably from resins in furniture, textiles, and building materials. OSHA and the EPA regulate formaldehyde levels in the workplace and consumer products, respectively.
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