Formaldehyde concentrations in household air of asthma patients determined using colorimetric detector tubes

Abstract

Formaldehyde is a colorless, pungent gas commonly found in homes that is a respiratory irritant, sensitizer, carcinogen and asthma trigger. Typical household sources include plywood and particleboard, cleaners, cosmetics, pesticides, and others. Development of a fast and simple measurement technique could facilitate continued research on this important chemical. The goal of this research is to apply an inexpensive short-term measurement method to find correlations between formaldehyde sources and concentration, and formaldehyde concentration and asthma control. Formaldehyde was measured using 30-minute grab samples in length-of-stain detector tubes in homes (n=70) of asthmatics in the Boston, MA area. Clinical status and potential formaldehyde sources were determined. The geometric mean formaldehyde level was 35.1 ppb and ranged from 5–132 ppb. Based on one-way ANOVA, t-tests, and linear regression, predictors of log-transformed formaldehyde concentration included absolute humidity, season, and the presence of decorative laminates, fiberglass, or permanent press fabrics (p<0.05), as well as temperature and household cleaner use (p<0.10). The geometric mean formaldehyde concentration was 57% higher in homes of children with very poorly controlled asthma compared to homes of other asthmatic children (p=0.078). This study provides a simple method for measuring household formaldehyde and suggests that exposure is related to poorly controlled asthma.

Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds of respiratory health relevance in French dwellings

“…The absence of correlation between THM and VOCs and SVOCs confirms their specific sources, but this also can be linked to differences in sampling modalities (10 min in the bathroom, vs. 5 days in the bedroom for VOCs and in the living room for SVOCs). In fact, some surface cleaners containing bleach and other cleaning agents may emit THMs and other VOCs (Dannemiller et al, 2013;Odabasi, 2008;Wolkoff et al, 1998), but the sampling design used in this study did not allow to investigate this aspect. The numerous correlations between the VOCs probably indicate shared sources, as well as for the phthalates and synthetic musks families.…”

Re-evaluation of the WHO (2010) formaldehyde indoor air quality guideline for cancer risk assessment

“…In houses inhabited by asthmatics in the Boston area, the geometric mean FA concentration was 43 µg/m 3 . The concentrations ranged from 6 to 162 µg/m 3 , and 6 % of the houses had a FA concentration exceeding 122 µg/m 3 (Dannemiller et al 2013). In homes in Australia, the mean and maximum FA concentration was 15 and 46 µg/m 3 , respectively (Lazenby et al 2012).…”

Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde exposure mitigation in US residences: in‐home measurements of ventilation control and source control

“…Recent studies report associations between in-home formaldehyde concentrations and childhood asthma (McGwin et al 2010;Dannemiller et al 2013), and formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen (NTP 2011). Formaldehyde concentrations in US residences regularly exceed benchmarks established for health protection (Logue et al 2011).…”