Formaldehyde, a ubiquitous volatile organic compound, is used extensively in the manufacture of many products and processes across industries, yet little is known of its inherent risks in the occupations. Because of formaldehyde public health significance, many countries and regulatory agencies have issued guidelines, advisories, and regulations for its exposure. These permissible exposure limits are different for different countries and institutions, suggesting that there is currently no global agreement on what comprises safe formaldehyde exposure levels. Formaldehyde has a wide range of chronic toxicity effects affecting different cells, tissues and organs of the body including, but not limited to, neuronal, pulmonary, immunological, haematological, genetic and reproductive and developmental systems. It is also carcinogenic, nephrotoxic and hepatotoxic. Most of the mechanisms through which formaldehyde exerts its toxic effects are not clearly understood. Due to its global economic importance, formaldehyde has clearly come to stay despite its known toxicities. It is proposed that well-designed epidemiologic, in addition to mechanistic and animal studies, need to be carried out to better appreciate the systemic effects of formaldehyde exposure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.