EDITORIAL
The Verdict on a Troublesome Carcinogen
New reports confirm that formaldehyde can cause cancer, but it's still widely used in consumer products and industrial processes.
Link: nytdirect@nytimes.com
Facts about Formaldehyde
- Though first discovered by A. M. Butlerov in 1859 it wasn’t formally identified until 1968 at the University of Berlin by Professor A.W. Hoffman
- Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring organic compound; composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules, its chemical formula is CH2O
- When found naturally formaldehyde is a colourless gas, however, commercially it is distributed in liquid form as formalin
- Scrap wood can be broken down into wood chips and used to make furniture thanks to formaldehyde-based glues
- Formaldehyde’s intrinsic anti-bacterial and preservative properties make it ideal for use in some vaccines
- Formaldehyde is present in all organic life forms but it does not accumulate; It is broken down by sunlight in the air, and by bacteria in soil and water
- Scientific discoveries suggest that formaldehyde was one of the first substances in the universe
- The first plastic used on an industrial scale was phenolic resin a combination of phenol and formaldehyde
Commercial Production of Formaldehyde
Commercial production of formaldehyde began in Germany in the 1880’s and was taken up by Belgium, France and the United States by the early 1900s. During this time formaldehyde was mainly used as an embalming agent or medical preservative, but these early uses represent less than 1% of total formaldehyde sales today. Formaldehyde was initially manufactured in small quantities (5-20kg) for use in a few factories and university laboratories, but improvements to the manufacturing process eventually led to large-scale production of formaldehyde.The demand for formaldehyde has risen steadily through the past century, driven by developments in science and technology that have led to the discovery of a wide variety of applications for which formaldehyde is a key building block. For example, in 1907 a Belgian chemist, Dr. Leo Baekeland, used a phenol formaldehyde resin to invent Bakelite, a hard moldable plastic that is generally regarded as the first synthetic polymeric material. The first commercial-grade particleboard was produced at a factory in Bremen, Germany in the 1940s and launched a revolution in the construction and furniture industries.Commercial applications for formaldehyde continue to grow. In 2010, over 7 million tonnes of formaldehyde were produced by European manufacturers for use in a number of different industries including:
- Construction
- Automotive
- Aircraft
- Healthcare
- Clothing
Formaldehyde in Healthcare Applications
The small amounts of formaldehyde found in healthcare applications have functional benefits that only formaldehyde can deliver. Because formaldehyde has intrinsic anti-bacterial and preservative properties, it brings important benefits for a number of healthcare applications.
For example, formaldehyde has long been used safely in the manufacture of certain viral and bacterial vaccines. In viral vaccines, formaldehyde helps inactivate the viruses so that the vaccine won’t cause disease. Some common inactivated viral vaccines include those for flu, cholera, polio and hepatitis A. These types of vaccines also do not require refrigeration which means they can be shipped all around the world, including to developing countries where medical infrastructure can make delivering necessary vaccines a challenge. Toxoid vaccines like diphtheria and tetanus use an inactive bacterial toxin to produce immunity and formaldehyde helps inactivate the bacteria in these types of vaccines.
Formaldehyde is an active ingredient in anti-infective drugs and is used in gel capsules to promote maximum absorption. There are also medical research applications for formaldehyde including pharmaceutical research in proteomics and genomics.
Because formaldehyde is excellent at prohibiting bacterial growth, small amounts are included in some personal care products like toothpaste and mouthwash.
Clothing and Textile uses:
Small volumes of formaldehyde-based resins are used in the textiles industry to help bind dyes and pigments to fabrics and prevent the colours from running when clothing is washed. In addition to preventing the loss of colour, urea (UF) and melamine formaldehyde (MF) resins are sometimes applied as a finishing to make clothes wrinkle and stain resistant.
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