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Formaldehyde can be inhaled when released into the air when some products off-gas or burn. It can also be absorbed through the skin through formaldehyde-containing personal care products like some soaps, nail polishes, hair straighteners, and others.

There are many common sources of formaldehyde exposure:

• Automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke, e-cigarette vapor, gas stoves, wood burning fireplaces.

• Personal care products, hair straighteners, household cleaners, glues, paints, some paper products.

• Permanent press or wrinkle-free fabrics.

• Some manufactured wood products like particle board, plywood, and medium- density fiberboard (MDF).

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Formaldehyde exposure can have serious health effects. Children may be especially vulnerable to formaldehyde exposures because they breathe faster than adults and because their bodies are still developing.

• Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer in humans. Long-term exposure increases the risk of leukemia and nasopharyngeal (upper throat) cancer.

• Exposure to formaldehyde in the air can lead to watery eyes, burning throat, cough, skin irritation, and wheeze.

• Repeated exposure to formaldehyde may cause bronchitis or a skin- and asthma- like allergy.

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• Don’t smoke or use e-cigarettes. • Ventilate indoor spaces by opening windows or using a fan. • Do not use unvented kerosene heaters indoors. • Ensure fireplaces and wood stoves are not leaking exhaust inside the house. • Limit automobile idling. • Avoid clothing and fabric advertised as “wrinkle-free”. • Wash new clothing and bedding to remove formaldehyde-containing fabric finishes. • Choose “3-free” nail polish, which does not contain formaldehyde. • Avoid chemical hair-straightening products. • Air out manufactured wood products that use formaldehyde, like plywood or particle board, before bringing indoors, or cover with plastic laminate or other coating.

This material was developed through the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center (www.cehcenter.org) and Transdisciplinary Center on Early Environmental Exposures (tceee.icahn.mssm.edu, NIEHS grant P30ES023515). As part of the Institute for Exposomic Research, we translate and connect our science to supporters and communities committed to ensuring a healthier future for all. To learn more about the Institute’s research, visit icahn.mssm.edu/exposomics.

© ISMMS 2018

@SinaiExposomics@SinaiCEHC

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