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Date Posted: 16:56:28 08/20/00 Sun
Author: znailady
Subject: Formaldehyde --- Part 1of 3

Because this is such a large article I will put it into several sections. Mary

By Heidi Fron:

As part of her usual routine a manicurist gets up in the morning, munches on a piece of toast, brushes her teeth, shampoos her hair in the shower, cleanses her face and applies makeup, puts on deodorant, dons a permanent press blouse and slacks, perhaps a raincoat, then heads for the salon.

Before her first client arrives, this manicurist may light up a cigarette as she checks her inventory and makes a list of supplies to order. She had planned to try a new nail conditioner, until she found out it contained formaldehyde, which she would never use on her clients. The word itself makes her cringe. FORMALDEHYDE. That's an embalming fluid. No sense in pickling her clients alive, right? So she omits the product from her list without giving it further thought.

This scenario illustrates a number of misconceptions about formaldehyde. Here's a conscientious manicurist who refuses to use a particular product based on one fact: it contains formaldehyde. But she probably never stopped to think bout the formaldehyde in her cagarette, smoke, food, toothpaste, shampoo and makeup. She probably doesn't know that formaldehyde keeps the "permanent" in permanent press fabrics and contributes to the finish on rainwear. It even bonds cellulose fibers in paper towels, making them stronger and more absorbent. How many of those does she use every day?

WHAT IS FORMALDEHYDE?
Formaldehyde is a simple chemical made from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen: CH2O. The human body produces it as a substance essential for metabolism to sustain the life process: It occurs naturally at low levels in every human cell.

Formaldehyde is also produced naturally by animals and in vegetation, so it exists throughout the environment. We could hardly live without it or without exposure to it.
It was produced in a laboratory for the first time in 1868 and was used as a biological preservtive. By 1889, it was being manufactured and marketed commercially in Europe.

"Formalin" was originally a European trade name for a solution of 35% formaldehyde. Now the term is used by some people as a synonym for commercial formaldehyde. (By contrast, other people fail to make the connection and don't realize that formalin is formaldehyde).

Formldehyde has been manufactured commercially in the United States for more than 75 years, and is used in numerous products. Surprisingly, more formaldehyde is created as a by-product of natural or man-made processes than is manufactured commercially. In addition to being released naturally by humans, plants and and animals, it gets into the air through tobcco smoke, incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons and automobile emissions.

However, formaldehyde is biodegradable: It is broken down by natural processes and doesn't persist in the environment.

When high concentrations of formaldehyde are present, its pungent odor will alert individuals and repel them from the area. Exposure to low and moderate levels of formaldehyde vapors often results in irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, as well as headaches. Research has shown skin to be an effective barrier to formaldehyde--very little is absorbed--but high concentrations can cause skin irritations. Frequent or prolonged exposure to both high and low concentrations can cause hyper-sensitivity, leading to contact dermatitis, possibly similar to eczema.

The big question--the one that causes so much controversy--is whether or not formaldehyde causes cancer.

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